Only You
by RoseThern1
Summary: Picks up with episode "Only You" and the events surrounding Robin's death, but with a twist. What if things weren't as they seemed? Will Regina get her happily ever after or will fate still conspire to destroy her happiness. Who will win the battle of good vs. evil? All the canon pairings, but very Regina-centric. AU.
1. Chapter 1

**_A/N: The first two or three chapters are somewhat of a retelling of the final three eps of season five. None of the characters or the dialogue from the episode are mine. The retelling is necessary for the story, and it is not simply a recap of the episodes._** _**Also, apologies to anyone who read this before I fixed the scene breaks. I haven't uploaded a story in a while and accidentally published before I was done editing.**_  


Chapter One

Hades tightened his arm around Zelena as they stepped through the portal and into Storybrooke. Zelena held the baby tight as she turned back to the portal.

Hades put his hand on her back to guide her away. Zelena frowned as she gazed behind her.

"How much longer will it stay open? Maybe we should have waited for them. What if they don't make it?"

"Don't worry, dear. What could possibly stop them?"

Gold stepped through the portal.

"A greeting party for me?" he quipped.

Zelena narrowed her eyes. "Where are the rest?"

Gold shrugged in disinterest. "I'm not their keeper. Nor do I care to deal with either of you. You stay out of my way, I'll stay out of yours."

He brushed past them.

Hades glanced up at the sky as a cloud blocked the sun.

"We should get little one inside. Wouldn't want to get caught in a storm with her."

Zelena nodded and glanced again at the portal. She was beginning to worry about her sister. And even that stupid thief who'd fathered her child. As much as she couldn't stand him, she couldn't deny he seemed to truly care for Regina and his little girl. And they'd trusted her.

"Don't worry. I'm sure they'll find us when they arrive. And if they don't we can find them after we get settled," Hades assured and led Zelena away from the portal.

As they walked away, Hades turned back and narrowed his eyes at the portal as its color flickered and turned blue.

* * *

Regina felt his hand on her back guiding her into the portal, but the second she stepped through it slipped away and all she was aware of was the swirling blackness around her. And then there was the smell of trees and damp grass. She looked around taking in her surroundings. They were back in Storybrooke. She shivered involuntarily as she sensed the strong dark magic pervading the town. She blinked and tried to focus.

"Henry?" She said as she spun around searching for her son. He crashed into her arms.

"We made it, mom." Henry said into her shoulder as he hugged her tightly.

She felt Robin's hand on her back again and shifted her weight back slightly into his arms.

"Where are Emma and David?" She frowned turning to Robin. "I thought they were right behind you."

Robin turned as well. "I thought so too."

Regina moved back toward the still swirling portal they had stepped from. She felt Robin grab her arm. "Careful, Regina."

"I'm not going to fall in. I know what I'm doing," she answered testily.

Just as she moved to step forward Emma and David stumbled out of the portal. Emma nearly knocked Regina down as she fell into her, but Robin had quickly moved behind her to brace her. She smiled. She knew he was upset with her, but he still had her back.

"So everyone made it back?" Emma asked.

Robin looked around. "Where's your sister and my daughter?" Robin asked turning to Regina.

Regina sighed. Wasn't that the question of the hour?

"I'm sure she's here. We'll find her. Henry, go with Emma and David and let Snow know we're back. We'll find my sister and meet back up with you to determine our next steps."

Henry moved back into Regina's arms giving her another tight hug. "Be careful," he whispered.

Regina nodded. "I promise."

As Henry walked off with Emma and his grandfather, Robin turned to Regina.

"I need to check on Roland first," Robin said in a curt tone.

Regina nodded. "Of course. Let's go." She reached for his hand, but he turned abruptly and started walking toward the Merry Men's camp. Regina hesitated as she let her hand drop, but quickly fell in step behind him.

* * *

Regina was struggling in her heels to keep up with Robin's pace, but she knew he was desperate to see his son and she could feel the anger and tension rolling off him, so she didn't ask him to slow down.

Robin was fuming. He'd left his son alone in Storybrooke because he was supposed to be safe here. He better be safe. If anything had happened to Roland because Regina had to go gallivanting down to the underworld…He let his thoughts trail off. That wasn't fair. They'd agreed Roland would be safer in Storybrooke and Killian and Emma were his friends too. He'd wanted to help. Well, to be honest, probably not so much for their sakes, but for Regina's. He couldn't bear the thought of being separated from her again. They'd spent more time apart than together since meeting. But then she had to go and trust her wicked sister. The sight of his camp broke him from his darkening thoughts leaving only one thought in his mind as he started to run toward the camp: Roland.

Regina saw Robin break into a run as soon as the camp came into view. She'd let him surprise his son on his own. She kept her pace steady as she saw Roland come into view and start running toward his father.

"Papa!" Roland squealed in excitement as he ran toward Robin's open arms. Robin scooped him up into his arms as soon as the little boy came into his reach.

Regina smiled as she watched them embrace. Robin was such a good father. Such a good man. She really didn't deserve him. And now his daughter was in danger because of her. But she'd really thought Zelena was trying to do the right thing. She thought they were in a better place. Maybe they were. Maybe Zelena didn't know what Hades had done. Maybe her sister hadn't betrayed her yet again. When did she turn into Snow White, she wondered to herself.

"Gina?" Roland asked as she approached the father and son. The merry men had started to gather around.

"You made it back!" Little John said.

"Did you doubt me?" Robin asked.

"Not for a second." John said patting Robin on the back. He turned to Regina. "Your majesty." He said nodding his head deferentially.

Regina smiled. "Nice to see you again, John." Her smiled widened as she looked at Roland. "And you my little knight."

"Can we go get ice cream? Uncle John said I had to wait 'til you got back."

"Not today, my boy. I have to go get your little sister."

"The baby?" Roland asked. Robin nodded solemnly.

"Yes, your baby sister. But I had to come say "hi" to you first. I've missed you so much."

"I missed you too, Papa. Can I go with you?"

"Not today, my boy."

"Can Gina take me to get ice cream then?" Roland said trying again.

Regina shook her head. "I have to go help your papa, Roland."

Roland's lip turned down and he looked ready to start crying.

"I promise we'll get ice cream tomorrow, Roland. You can even get two scoops." Robin promised.

"Two different kinds?" Roland asked.

Robin nodded.

"Okay." Roland agreed.

Robin lifted Roland into Little John's arms. "We have to go John, but keep everyone together and alert. We're not the only ones that came back from the underworld. Zelena's back and she's brought Hades with her.

John frowned. "Hades?"

"The god of dea-" Regina glanced at Roland and stopped midsentence. "The god of the underworld."

John nodded. "I'll let the men know. Be careful my friend." He gave Robin another pat on the back as he turned to leave. "Good to have you back."

As soon as John started back to the center of camp, Robin took off again.

Regina had to jog to keep up. She was going to twist an ankle at this rate. She reached forward and grabbed his arm as soon as they were far enough away from the camp not to be overheard.

"Robin, it's going to be okay. We'll find Zelena and get your baby back."

"And you think she's just going to hand her back over? Hades has my daughter, Regina. Do you really think it's going to be that simple?"

"We'll just tell Zelena what Hades did and explain to her-"

"Regina! You did make it back!" Zelena rushed toward them.

Robin immediately started to demand his daughter.

Regina put her hand on Robin trying to get him to calm down. Attacking Zelena never worked well. She'd just get defensive. Regina tried to calmly explain what happened, but it was too late. Zelena had already stopped listening.

"That depends on Hades. We'll do what we need to to protect this town." Regina said. "Hades isn't the man you think he is." The moment the words left her mouth she knew it was a mistake. Zelena was on the defensive.

"He's not a man at all. He's a god and if you try to hurt him, you do so at your own peril." And she disappeared.

"Well, explaining the situation went over real well. Now how I am supposed to get my daughter back?" Robin asked.

Regina shut her eyes.

"Let's meet up with the others. Then we can try to figure out where they are."

Robin turned and walked away from Regina. He was so angry. How could she be so naive to trust Zelena? After everything she's done. Regina of all people should know what her sister is capable of. And now his daughter was in danger. Did she not care? Just because it wasn't her baby? Was she still jealous about that? Robin shook his head. This was his anger talking. Of course, Regina cared. He knew she cared. She loved Henry even though technically he was Emma's. And she treated Roland with the same affection.

Regina felt his anger and pain pulse through her heart and soul. It was enough to keep her following at a distance. She understood. She did. He was right. It was her fault his daughter was with Zelena. He'd had her back safe in his arms and she'd asked him to let Zelena take the baby. She would fix it. She would get Robin's little girl back.

* * *

After meeting with the others, they'd headed immediately to the tunnels. Regina led the way. Robin was following in a sullen silence. The whole situation seemed impossible. Regina just hoped the heroes would be able to work out a plan while they were gone. If they were successful it wouldn't take long before Hades and Zelena were coming back after them for the baby.

Regina glanced back to make sure Robin was keeping up with her as she took another turn down a different passageway. As she looked down the tunnel she thought about the last time they went traipsing through her hidden tunnel system. Being the Evil Queen had definitely taught her the importance of secret tunnels. It was ironic. The last time they'd been in the tunnels, she'd been the one desperate and missing her son. Though she'd never wish to be separated from Henry again, she did wish she could take away Robin's pain.

"Look, I'm sorry I trusted Zelena with your daughter."

"Glad to finally hear it."

"For once I was trying to be optimistic and give her a second chance like you gave me."

"You deserved it. She doesn't."

"All she wants is what I have. I made her think love was possible-"

"So you're not actually apologizing, you're defending her. Again."

Regina flinched at the bite behind Robin's words. "Robin, no-"

"Forgive me if I don't care to listen. I have a daughter to save," he said as he walked away from her.

Regina couldn't move for a minute. She was so tired. Tired of fighting. Tired of danger at every turn. Tired of trying to do the right thing only to have it backfire in her face. She shook it off and continued. He was nearing another turn and wouldn't know which way to go. He was right. They didn't have time for this now. They had to save his daughter.

* * *

Regina stopped in front of an open door.

"Welcome to the town hall."

"Secret passage indeed." Robin breathed a sigh of relief. Almost there. Only a few more hurdles and he'd have his little girl back in his arms. "Thank you, Regina."

"You're welcome. And I know you can't accept this right now, but I do feel horrible for what I did. I'm sorry Zelena has your daughter." Regina said. She felt the guilt weighing her down. No matter what she did, it always seemed to be the wrong choice. "And I'm really trying to make up for it."

"You're right. We do owe Zelena another chance."

"Oh don't just say that to appease me." Regina frowned. Did he think she wouldn't help him if he didn't always agree with her?

"No. I'm not. If being with you has taught me anything it's that we all have the capability to change. And the future is not written by our past. Regina, you are my future."

Regina was surprised as Robin's lips met hers in a passionate, desperate kiss. She embraced it. He leaned in and bumped her nose as he pulled way.

"Okay, thief." She bit her bottom lip. God, she loved this man. "Tell me what the plan is."

"Well I always follow one rule. Don't go into a job without a good plan to get out. But with my daughter on the line I've broken my own rule, I have no plan. So if you want to turn back…" Robin trailed off. He couldn't ask Regina to go into without a plan. It wasn't safe.

Regina shook her head and interrupted his thought. "I'm with you. Always."

"Good. Well then let's go save my daughter."

* * *

They stood just outside of her office. She could hear them talking.

"God, I hate that man."

"We need a distraction."

* * *

As Hades walked past Robin and Regina, Regina held her breath.

"Who needs a plan when you have blind luck?" Robin grinned as they hurried into the now empty room. Regina couldn't shake the feeling of dread that had been building in her stomach since they'd left the tunnels.

They quickly walked to the baby and Robin scooped her up into his arms just as Hades returned. Robin put his daughter back in her carrier and stood blocking her.

"You stay away from my daughter." Robin warned.

Regina shot her hand defensively toward Robin, trying to keep him back. Hades had some sort of a crystal wand in his hands and he was aiming it at them.

"Oh believe me, she's not the one who's in danger."

Hades advanced toward them turning the crystal to point directly at Regina.

"Hades stop. This isn't worth it. If you kill me you will lose Zelena forever." Regina stated with more confidence than she felt.

"Only if she know about it. And this" he lifted the crystal higher. "isn't going to kill you. It's going to end you. No underworld, no moving on. One minute you exist and the next you don't"

Regina sensed Robin moving beside her and tried to stretch her arm farther to keep him back. She knew she was no match for whatever that crystal was.

"This was my idea to break in here. Just use that on me. Just let her go." Robin said as he stepped forward.

Regina gasped. "No." He couldn't do this. She couldn't lose him. Regina held her arm out trying to keep Robin still as she felt the panic building.

"Sorry, ladies, first," Hades grinned as the crystal glowed blue and a beam of magic burst from it.

"No!" Regina screamed as Robin stepped in front of her. He was hit before she could stop him. She felt gripping cold when the magic hit him. Everything seemed to stop moving. He was turning to face her, but he wasn't, his body was on the floor. Her brain couldn't process what was happening. A magical aura of Robin was in front of her she reached for him. She couldn't let him go. This couldn't be how it ended. She never told him how much she loved him. She looked down at her hands. There was nothing there. She was looking right at Hades as he rejoiced over what he'd done. He was excited. But she wasn't really seeing him. Her eyes dropped to the floor. To Robin's body. Her hands shook and her legs felt limp as she dropped to her knees reaching for him.

She slowly raised her eyes to Hades. He was pointing the crystal at her again. "Don't worry. You won't apart long." Hades said.

Regina was vaguely aware of her sister entering the room.

"Regina, what happened?"

She argued with her sister. Tried to make her see. Why couldn't Zelena see she'd been trying to protect her. Protect all of them from Hades. Hades was still pointing the crystal at her. She wondered for a moment if it would be better to just let him end her too. But then Robin's sacrifice would have been for nothing. Sacrifice.

Zelena had turned to Hades. They were arguing. He was trying to convince Zelena of his plans. This was it. This was her chance. He wasn't watching her and besides, what did she really have to lose? Regina charged at Hades knocking him back and knocking the crystal out of his hands.

Zelena scooped up the crystal before Regina could. Well, that wasn't exactly the plan, she thought.

"It's okay. Use it. End her." Hades told Zelena.

Regina faced her sister. "Zelena, I do believe in you. I defended you when no one else did. I wanted so badly for you to find love. But sometimes love blinds us. Hades tried to kill me already."

"No she's lying." Hades interrupted.

"Robin died to protect me. That's what true love is. It's sacrifice. It's giving up everything for the person you love. But Hades won't give up a single thing for you. Like he said. He wants it all."

"Don't listen to her. She doesn't think you deserve to be happy. This was all hers when you had nothing. All you have to do is kill her." Hades advanced until he stood right beside Zelena. "And you can have everything you everything you ever wanted. Do it. If you won't I will."

Zelena raised the crystal. She activated the crystal pointing straight at Regina. Regina braced herself. She was only semi-aware of what Zelena was saying, but it was clear she'd made her decision. At least it would be over quickly. She wouldn't have to feel the pain. The overwhelming loss. The emptiness. She was broken from her thoughts by Zelena's screams and the strong magic filling the room.

Regina turned to see Hades turning into a pile of dust. Zelena had killed Hades. She'd chosen Regina. No one ever chose her. In some corner of her mind, she knew she should comfort Zelena who was breaking down in front of her. She knew the pain of killing someone you loved. She'd done it more than once after all. But the overwhelming need to be near Robin took over. She wasn't ready. She ran back over to him and gently cradled his head in her arms as she leaned down to him. She needed him. She loved him. This couldn't be happening. She was all alone.

The feeling of a hand on her shoulder drew her from her thoughts once again and she turned to see Zelena trying to comfort her. Or trying to comfort herself. Regina wasn't really sure, but it didn't really matter.

The baby began to scream. Regina felt each scream like it was a punch in her gut. The baby knew her father was gone. Zelena didn't move. Regina frowned as the baby continued screaming. She pushed her sister back.

"Zelena."

"Hmm?" Zelena's eyes were fixated on something over Regina's shoulder. The dust. Hades. Of course. Regina grabbed Zelena's face and forced her gaze away from the dust.

"I know you're grieving, but your daughter comes first. You wanted to be a mother. Be one."

Zelena met Regina's eyes and stood up to retrieve her little girl. Regina looked back to Robin. She didn't want to leave him. Once she called the others it would be real. She would have to leave him. Continue her life without him. She was vaguely aware of Zelena bouncing the baby trying to sooth the little girl.

"Regina?" Zelena's voice was hesitant and nervous and maybe a little scared.

Regina turned to look at her. "Yes?"

"What happens now?"

Regina sighed. The question of the day. What did happen now? Where could she go from here? She shut her eyes briefly wishing it was all a nightmare. Just a simple bad dream. But she knew it wasn't a dream. She pulled away from Robin and stood up.

"We move on."

She fumbled in her pocket finally finding her phone. A sob nearly escaped when she swiped the lock screen to reveal a smiling outlaw and his son. Roland. She was going to have to tell Roland. Maybe John would do it. One thing at a time, Regina, she thought to herself. She quickly moved away from the home screen to her contacts.

"Snow, I" She stopped the words catching in her throat. She didn't know how to do this. Snow was asking if she was alright and if they got the baby. "We…the baby is here. Zelena is taking down her protection spell" She glanced at her sister who took the hint and waved her hand. "I…just come to my office. And have the others wait downstairs. I, I'd rather not deal with everyone." Snow was still rambling on asking more questions, but Regina felt numb. She hung up on Snow mid-sentence.

* * *

Snow hung up the phone. David and Henry looked at her expectantly.

"That was Regina. She said the protection spell is down."

"Great! Let's go!" Henry said enthusiastically.

David picked up on Snow's apprehension.

"Did they get the baby? We should call Emma so she can meet us there," David suggested.

Snow hesitated. "Yes, let's call Emma, but she needs to wait for us to go in. And Henry, maybe you could stay with Neal for me. I don't really want to take him since we don't know what we might be walking into."

"What do you mean? Didn't they get the baby?" Henry asked.

"I think they did. Regina said the baby was with her. But she didn't really say what was going on so I'm not sure if it's safe for Neal. Please, Henry?" Snow pleaded.

Henry sighed. He was always stuck on the sidelines. But his grandma was right. Someone needed to stay with Neal and it made more sense for his grandpa to go. But maybe…

"I can go with David and you can stay here with Neal." Henry suggested.

David caught the panic in his wife's eyes as she struggled to come up with a reason that wouldn't work.

"Henry, I think your mom called Snow for a reason. And you know both your moms would want you to be safe and make sure your uncle is safe."

"Fine." Henry pouted.

"Let's go, David. You can call Emma from the car."

* * *

Emma was pacing outside City Hall when Snow and David arrived.

"I thought you guys were never going to get here. Why did I need to wait? What if they're still in trouble?" Emma questioned the second her parents got out of the car. Before they could answer she was already moving toward the door. "Well, come on. Let's not waste anymore time."

Snow reached out her hand to gently grab Emma's arm.

"Regina asked me to come up alone first."

"What?" Emma spun around to face her mother.

"No." David said firmly at the same time.

"Yes." Snow said. "Regina asked me to come up to her office alone and that is what I'm going to do."

"Snow, you don't know what's going on. What if it's a trap?"

Snow sighed. David was right of course, it could be a trap. Regina hadn't sounded okay. Hades could have been forcing her. But it didn't make sense. Hades would want them all dead and he wouldn't be anymore afraid of them as a group than as individuals. He was strong enough to take them all on at once.

"I don't think it's a trap. Trust me, please."

David met her eyes and then finally sighed. "Okay. You have 10 minutes. Then I'm coming up."

"15." Snow shot back.

"15." David agreed. "Be careful." He pulled her into his arms, embracing her tightly. He'd just gotten back to her and now she was leaving him again. He lifted her chin and leaned in kissing her. "I love you."

"I love you too, Charming." Snow smiled. "I've missed you." And with that she turned and entered City Hall.

* * *

After calling Snow, Regina had dropped back to the floor beside Robin. She was running her fingers through his hair absentmindedly. It was morbid. He was gone. But it was soothing.

Zelena was pacing and seemed ready to have another nervous breakdown.

"Regina, I need to leave. They're going to blame me and lock me up." Zelena said.

"No, they won't. You saved the town from Hades. They will thank you."

"Who are we thanking?" Snow's voice asked as she stepped into the room. She froze as she took in the scene in front of her. Both women had red eyes and looked to have been crying. Regina was on the floor, her hand still running through Robin's hair. And Robin. Robin was laying on the floor in an unnatural way and was frighteningly still. "Regina…" Snow started in a voice full of dread. "What's wrong with Robin? Is the ambulance on its way?"

Regina looked up at her and her eyes said it all. It was too late. "Oh, Regina!" Snow rushed to her and wrapped her arms around Regina. Regina immediately tensed. She couldn't cry anymore. It was done. She had to deal with this. She pulled away from Snow.

"I need help with…" She shut her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them again. "I don't know who to call or how to do this. You handled Neal's funeral arrangements, right? Since Gold wasn't…" She trailed off after shooting a glance at her sister. Now wasn't the time to pick at old wounds. They had enough new ones to deal with.

"Oh. Right. Yes. Okay. I can do that. Don't worry about that. David and I will make all the arrangements." She looked nervously around the room. "Did Hades leave?"

"Hades won't be a problem anymore." Regina said. "He's gone. Forever." Her voice shook. "Snuffed out of existence." Another tear escaped as she looked down at Robin.

"You killed him then?" Snow asked.

"I did." Zelena stated. Snow's head jerked up in surprise.

"Oh." She stammered. "And Robin?"

"It was supposed to be me." Regina whispered. "Hades was trying to destroy me, but Robin saved me."

"Oh." Snow took in the utter devastation on Regina's face. "He loved you, Regina. You know it's not your fault he's dead."

"No?" Regina asked sarcastically. "He loved me. Too bad no one warned him that was a death sentence."

"Regina" Snow started, but Regina had abruptly stood up.

"No. I don't want to talk. I need to go." She needed to get out of here. Needed to get away before she suffocated, but she couldn't quite bring herself to leave. "You'll take good care of him?" she asked.

Snow nodded. "Of course."

"And let the others know what happened. That Zelena is not at fault. She saved us from Hades."

Snow nodded. As soon as she got reassurance, Regina waved her hand and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: Characters and dialogue from the show still not mine. Any typos or grammatical errors are mine. This is the end of what we've seen on the show. Next chapter starts my storyline.** _

As the smoke cleared, Regina was overwhelmed by the pine scent. Her legs buckled as she choked back a sob. She reached her hand out to steady herself on a tree. Could she really do this? Maybe if she could get John alone. Maybe she should just let Snow handle this too. No. That wasn't fair. She took a minute, braced herself, and started toward the camp.

* * *

Will spotted her first. And though she was mainly looking down, she immediately knew she'd been seen. She kept walking. Will must have sensed something because he didn't move he just stared at her as she approached. Alone. When she got close he started toward her closing the gap.

"Your majesty? Are you alright?" Will questioned reaching for her.

"I'm…no…" She looked up and met his eyes and Will's face filled with surprise at seeing her red tear-stained eyes. "Please, just, it's just Regina."

Will looked at her, unsure what to say or do. She was radiating pain.

She bit her lip. God, she didn't know how to do this. "I…Robin…" Her lip trembled.

"Did you two have a fight? Don't worry. He'll come around. He's head over heels for you. He's not back at camp yet though. Maybe he just needed a little time to cool off." Will had been on a roll and only realized Regina was shaking her head when he heard a soft sob from her.

"No. That's not. We did fight…" she trailed off trying to compose herself as a few tears trickled down her face. She had spent some of her last minutes with Robin fighting. But they'd made up. He loved her. Even if he didn't say it. He'd forgiven her for trusting Zelena. But if she hadn't…no. She couldn't think like that.

"Regina. Regina." Will was trying to get her attention. He put his arm around her waist and gently moved her toward the camp. "Come on, let's sit down."

She looked at the log he'd stopped in front of. Memories of her and Robin on a log in the forest flooded her mind. She'd never have that again. She'd never—She was pulled out of her thoughts by a squeal.

"Regina! Is it time for ice cream?" Roland screamed excitedly as he ran toward her. "Where's Papa?"

Regina swallowed and looked up. Well she was out of time. She blinked back the tears and smiled softly at Roland. She patted her lap.

"Come sit with me, Roland." Roland looked at her curious.

"Are you sad?" He questioned. Regina nodded her head. "Why? Where's Papa? He'll make you happy. Papa always makes me happy."

"Roland, you know how your Papa loved…loves you very much, right?" The little boy nodded. "Nothing can change that. You will always feel how much he loved you right here." She put her hand on his chest.

Roland looked at her in confusion. Will frowned. "Regina?"

"You are so brave, Roland. Just like your Papa. He was so brave, but a very bad man wanted to hurt people. He wanted to hurt your sister, and me, and many other people. But your Papa was very brave and tried to stop the man from hurting us."

Roland's eyes got big. "Papa is very brave. I'm going to be just like him when I grow big. That's why I'm your knight. I'm learning to be brave like Papa so I can protect my family too."

Regina blinked, trying to hold the tears back. Will was now looking at her with fear in his eyes.

"Roland, maybe the queen and I should talk for a minute alone." Will suggested.

Roland shook his head and tightened his arms around Regina, hugging her. "No. I missed Regina and Papa and I want to be with her. Can we go get Papa now, Regina? You promised we could all get ice cream."

"Roland, let's finish our talk first, okay?" Regina asked gently. The little boy sighed but nodded and leaned back against her waiting for her to finish. "Do you remember where your mama is, Roland?"

He turned around on her lap to face her as he nodded and spoke in a very serious tone. "Yes. Mama is with the angels. But she loves me and watches me play from the sky."

"Roland, something very bad happened when your Papa and I tried to stop the bad man…" Her heart began racing. She felt like the walls were closing in on her, which of course was impossible since she was in the middle of the forest. "Your Papa got hurt and he can't come home. He's with your Mama now."

"What?" Will said in shock. "Robin's dead?"

Roland began hitting Regina. "No. You're a liar. Papa isn't dead. And he's not with Mama. He said we couldn't be with Mama anymore."

Regina didn't move. She just let him continue hitting her with his fists.

"Papa said you weren't evil anymore. But you are lying to me. Papa said not to lie. I want my Papa." He continued to hit her and climbed off her lap. "I want my Papa! Now! I don't want to be your friend anymore!"

His voice was getting louder. Some of the other men had turned to look.

"I'm sorry, Roland. I'm so sorry." Regina whispered, though she wasn't sure if she was trying to sooth the boy or herself.

Little John heard Roland screaming and came running over.

"What's going on?"

"The Queen says Robin's dead." Will said bluntly.

John looked at the little boy throwing a fit and the dead look in Regina's eyes as she just stared at Roland, not reacting in the slightest to the little boy's punches. John scooped up Roland and wrapped him in a big bear hug.

"There there little one. You're gonna be okay." He said.

"I want Papa. Make her stop lying and take me to Papa." Roland demanded.

Regina stood and began rubbing Roland's back softly. He jerked away from her touch. She withdrew her hand. "I wish I could, Roland. I…" She trailed off. She didn't know what to say. She looked into John's eyes, pleading for help.

"Roland, you have to be brave right now. You're one of the Merry Men and you know how much we all love you. You won't ever be alone. You have all of us. And you know your Papa will watch over you just like your Mama does." John said. Regina took a deep breath. That wasn't even true. Robin couldn't even watch over them. He hadn't gone somewhere better like Marian had. He was just gone.

John shifted Roland in his arms. "Why don't you and Will go find Tuck and some warm milk? I'll be up after I finish talking to Regina."

After letting John put him in Will's arms, Roland turned back to face Regina. "I hate you. I hate you, you liar."

 _You're not my mom. I hate you._ Regina couldn't breathe as she heard Henry's words echoing Roland. She fell back down on the log unable to stand anymore. Mother was right the first time. She wasn't strong. She was weak.

"Regina." She felt someone shaking her. "Regina." She lifted her head and focused on John who had his hands on her shoulders shaking her. "I need you to tell me what happened."

She looked up and spoke in a monotone voice. "We got to City Hall and snuck through my sister's protection spell. We found the baby, but before we could leave Hades found us. He tried to kill me, but Robin jumped in front of me. He's gone. Forever. Because of me. I'm sorry." She waved her hand and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

* * *

Snow, David, and Emma stood outside of City Hall. "Do you think she went home? Or to her vault? Should we be worried?" Emma asked.

"Maybe we should check on her."

"Maybe you should stop talking about her like she's a threat instead of a person in pain." Zelena spat as she stepped outside and approached the circle of heroes.

David eyed Zelena and then turned to his wife. "You're sure she wasn't in on this?"

"David, I told you. Regina said it was Zelena who killed Hades. She saved them. She saved all of us."

"So we just let her go home to play house with Robin's daughter?" Emma asked.

"I'm right here. And she happens to be my daughter as well." Zelena said testily.

"Yes, Emma, we're going to let her go home." Snow said. "And we need to go home as well. You have to tell Henry what happened and I have a lot of funeral arrangements to take care of."

* * *

Regina was curled up on her couch staring at the walls. Something didn't feel right. She couldn't quite place it, but something was off. And it wasn't just that her soulmate was gone. It was something else. An odd feeling overall. If they were soulmates, why hadn't she felt something when the magic hit Robin? Or when his soul dissipated? He was definitely gone. She wasn't questioning that. She had felt his cold still body with no heartbeat. She knew he was dead. She just didn't understand. Was she wrong about him being her soulmate?

There was an anxious knock at the door. Couldn't the heroes leave her be, just once in her life? Knock. Knock. Knock. Did she hear crying? The doorbell rang. And then it was silent.

"Regina!"

Zelena stood in front of her with a screaming baby in her arms.

"I've been knocking and ringing the bell. Why didn't you let me in?"

Regina stared at her sister. Her makeup was smeared. Her hair was flying all over the place. She was a mess.

"I thought it was the hopeful idiots."

Zelena sighed. Well, at least that was a good reason for not answering. "I need your help. I don't know what to do. I've tried everything. She won't stop crying. I'm going crazy. You helped Robin with her, right? What did he do?"

Regina continued staring at her sister. Was she serious? How did her life get so messed up? She looked at the baby who was bright red from the screaming.

"I know you're upset with me, but are you really going to refuse to help Robin's daughter?" Zelena asked.

Regina stood up and held out her arms. She hadn't really held the little girl much. She and Robin hadn't really had a chance to talk much about it and she was never sure what her place was. Zelena immediately handed over her daughter. Regina pulled her in close and began swaying and bouncing and murmuring to the baby. She was beautiful. Beautiful eyes. Like her father. Regina felt the tears coming back.

"Shush. It's alright, sweetie. It's okay. You're not alone. It's going to be okay." She looked up at Zelena. "How long has she been crying?"

"Since we left Robin. I checked her diaper and I tried feeding her. There's nothing wrong with her."

"She wants him." The cries hadn't stopped. Regina frowned and walked to the hall closet. Holding the little girl tightly against her with one arm, she used her free hand to look through the closet. She passed several coats before she stopped on a scarf. A green scarf. She caressed it gently before pulling it from the hanger and bringing it to her nose. She shut her eyes as she breathed in the scent. "This should do the trick."

She tucked the scarf around the baby and as the wailing stopped she handed her back to Zelena. "It smells like him."

"Thank you." Zelena said genuinely. Regina just nodded and went back to the couch.

Zelena glanced back at her unsure if she should stay or go. She decided to give her some space and walked back out the door.

* * *

Four hours later, Regina was still sitting on the couch. She hadn't moved. She hadn't eaten. She hadn't slept and she hadn't answered any of the phone calls from the heroes. Her phone was ringing again. She wanted to throw it out the window. Couldn't anyone leave her alone to grieve?

* * *

Henry hung up the phone.

"She's still not answering."

Snow sat down on the couch next to him and pulled him into a side hug. "I know you're worried, Henry, but we need to give your mom some time. She loves you very much, she just needs a little time."

David frowned. He didn't want to argue in front of Henry, but being alone to deal with her pain had never brought out the best in Regina. Emma could see her father wanted to argue and decided to interject.

"So everything is set for the funeral? Did you leave the details on Regina's phone?" She asked her mother.

"Yes. And I'll stop by before if I haven't heard back from her." Snow said.

* * *

Regina stood in front of her mirror. She put her hat on. She looked ghastly, but at least the red had faded a bit from her eyes. She still felt off. Numb from the loss, but more than that. Like something wasn't quite adding up. But she didn't have time to dwell on it. It was time to leave. Regina wasn't sure how Snow had managed to pull everything together so quickly for the funeral, but she was relieved that she had. Just the thought of it was overwhelming to Regina.

"Regina! Are you ready? We're going to be late." Zelena's voice called from downstairs. Regina took a deep breath and headed out.

* * *

Henry stood by Emma throughout the funeral. She wasn't letting him out of her site. It had been a mistake to stay in Storybrooke. She'd been right. She and Henry should have left after they defeated Zelena the first time. Then none of this would have happened. She walked forward with Henry. She placed the arrow on Robin's coffin. Henry took one of the two arrows he held and put it on the coffin as well. Her hand tightened on Henry's shoulder, but he moved away. He was walking toward Regina who seemed frozen in front of Robin's grave.

Henry gently placed the remaining arrow in her hand. The human contact shook her out of her thoughts and she took the arrow stepped forward and placed it on the coffin. Henry moved away, Regina turned back to the crowd in search of her sister. Zelena stepped forward with the baby.

Zelena told Regina her plans to name the baby after Robin and it took everything in her to hold back the tears. She was honored, but it felt shattering at the same time. She'd have to hear his name constantly, knowing it was never in reference to him. She wanted to be alone. To have a moment to say goodbye without all the eyes on her, but she was vaguely aware of Snow and Charming behind her and Zelena was gently guiding her away. Regina averted her gaze and let her eyes glaze over focusing on nothing as she walked away.

* * *

She couldn't even get an evening to mourn Robin before the next crisis started. She should have stayed instead of letting Snow handle the situation in her office. Now Gold had the crystal. And to top it off, Emma's stupid pirate was back and Emma had the gall to tell her she wasn't needed?

"When you're upset we follow you to hell, but when I'm upset I get a time out." Regina spat back at her.

Emma was using her placating voice. So condescending. Regina couldn't stand to look at her.

"Moms."

Regina moved her eyes to Henry standing on the stairs. She couldn't do this. She couldn't stand hear and listen to Emma treat her like a time bomb. Or watch the fear in Henry's eyes.

"You don't want my help, I'll do it myself," she shot back and disappeared.

* * *

She was fuming silently in the passenger seat of Emma's car. She couldn't believe Emma was so stupid. What on earth possessed Henry to go destroy magic was beyond her though. And where in the world would he start such an operation. Yes. She was sure there was an operation name.

"Regina,"

"Not now. Just get us to Boston before Gold without killing us please."

* * *

The apartment wasn't dusty. It looked lived in. In fact it looked the same as the last time she was here. When. She stopped herself. She didn't want to remember that day either. Robin refusing to go with her because his "wife" was pregnant. She felt her heart race a little with trepidation. She was pacing. Swan was on the computer and Regina felt useless. She hated that feeling. She needed to do something. She moved to the bedroom and then she saw it. The book of stories about Robin Hood. She pulled it off the shelf and held it in her arms.

She didn't want to talk, but of course, Emma was like her mother and forced the conversation. Regina tried to explain her feelings to Emma, but she could see Emma wasn't getting it. She didn't understand how hard it was for Regina to keep the Evil Queen contained. Or how pointless it all seemed. If it was all going to end badly anyway, why was the struggle worth it? Henry. Henry was always Regina's reason. She knew that. She couldn't do anything that would hurt Henry. Robin had been wonderful and supportive, but Regina hadn't changed for him. She changed for Henry. She couldn't bear to see her little boy hurting. And it hurt him when she made bad choices. Just like her mother's choices had hurt her. And, if she was being completely honest with herself, her bad choices hurt her too. Regina had endured so much pain. If she hadn't cast that damn curse she surely would have died long ago. Then she'd be out of this miserable existence.

"So I'm trapped." She finished.

Emma looked at her. Regina wasn't sure what the look conveyed. Horror? Pity? Confusion?

"Got it! He's at the library."

"Let's go." Regina said.

* * *

Regina rushed to her son's side. How had Gold found them first? It didn't make any sense. But that didn't matter right now. She helped Henry up.

"Why would you do this?"

Henry seemed appalled that she had to ask. She listened as he explained, but it didn't make sense. Magic hadn't done this. People had done this. Her choices. Emma's choices. Robin's choices. But as grown up as Henry was, he still had that Charming tendency to see things in black and white.

She frowned as she waved her hand over the map and nothing happened. Her magic was gone. That didn't make sense. She waved her hand again.

Henry glanced at Violet, but didn't say anything.

Regina waved her hand again. This time the effort made her feel a little dizzy. She swayed and reached her hand out to grip the desk in an effort to steady herself.

"Regina?"

"It's not working. We'll have to do this your way." Regina said. Regina looked at Henry and Violet and frowned. They couldn't come along, but she knew Henry wouldn't stay put. If they told him to stay at least she'd have a little head start getting to Gold first. "Henry, you and Violet wait here."

Henry nodded.

"Seriously, kid." Emma said.

"I know." Henry said.

"Okay. We'll be back soon." Emma said taking off after Regina. Regina frowned. Emma actually seemed to think Henry was going to follow instructions. She rolled her eyes and walked out.

* * *

As Regina and Gold walked down the NY street, Regina paused.

"Why didn't you believe that I wanted to help you?"

"You've gone soft, dearie. You've lost your edge to that son of yours."

"And you haven't lost yours to Belle. But you can't really love her and she knows that. That's why you can't wake her."

"I will wake Belle. And you should stop trying to fight yourself. You'll never get what you want unless you take it."

They stepped inside a small store.

"I think we're going to need a little more than some herbal tea to get magic back."

Gold began talking to an Asian man. The dragon. But he was refusing to help. Another waste of time. But then he turned to Regina.

"You. I'll help you. I sense a noble battle between good and evil deep within your soul. It is imperative that you win for all of us."

Regina tried to hide her surprise. Who was this man?

* * *

As she continued with the others working on bringing magic back, the words wouldn't leave her. _A noble battle between good and evil._ She understood that. She did feel at war with herself. Her fingers touched the letter from Robin that was in her pocket and she teared up at the thought of him. Henry was handing her a coin.

"Your turn."

She tossed it in, wishing for magic back. Wishing to be rid of the Evil Queen. Wishing for happiness. Wishing for her missing soulmate. She looked down at the crystal in her hand. It was glowing.

"It's working."

Suddenly Henry was racing up the steps. He was standing and shouting to the crowd. She watched as the New Yorkers started throwing coins in the fountain. The crystal was glowing. She stared at it. She heard applause and screams of surprise. She looked up and there were Snow, Charming, Zelena, Hook, and some one else she didn't recognize. Of course they'd brought back someone. Nothing could ever just be simple.

* * *

"We should leave now. Who's taking care of Robin and Roland?" Regina asked as they stood in the apartment.

"Robin is with Granny. So is Neal." Snow answered.

"What about Roland? He just lost his father. I need to make sure he's okay."

Snow, Charming, Zelena, and Hook exchanged uncertain glances. And the room filled with a tense silence.

"Where's Roland? What happened to Roland? What aren't you telling me?" Regina began to panic. If anything happened to Roland…

"Regina, calm down and let them talk." Emma said.

Regina spun around to face Emma. "Stop telling me what to do. In fact, why don't you just stop talking completely?"

"Regina," Snow started.

Regina advanced on her sister. "Zelena, tell me where Roland is right now."

"He went back to the Enchanted Forest with the merry men," Zelena spit out quickly.

Regina felt like she was suffocating. "He's gone? Without…I didn't…" she was hyperventilating. She had to get out of here. She fled the apartment and took the stairs to the roof. The cool air helped her calm down a little. She stood gripping the rail looking out over the skyline. New York was beautiful. She stared down at her hands remembering how she'd stood on the balcony of her castle staring out at the night in frustration just like now. So angry. She'd broken the rail. But Tinkerbelle had saved her, shown her where her happiness was and still she chose the anger. She felt the anger inside her now. Anger at losing Robin. Anger that she had lost Roland without even a goodbye. Anger at herself. Her choices.

"Regina?" Snow's voice called out timidly. "I brought you some cocoa. I thought you might be cold."

"I don't do cocoa and cinnamon, Snow."

"I know."

Regina turned to see Snow pouring something from a flask into Regina's drink. Regina let a little of the frown slip from her face as she moved to sit down.

Snow sat across from her. "Zelena can open portals with the wand now. You can visit Roland. We didn't know what would happen to Storybrooke if magic was destroyed so we thought it best to get as many people to safety as we could."

Regina nodded. She wanted Roland safe. Of course she did. Of course they'd made the right choice. It just hurt so much knowing that she'd lost that piece of Robin too.

"You did the right thing. It was selfish of me to think you'd risk his safety just because I wasn't there to say goodbye. I doubt he wanted to say goodbye anyway. He's furious with me."

"He's not. He's a child, Regina. He's hurt and he's lashing out. You can understand that." Regina nodded. "And he left something for you. Zelena has it."

"I still love him. I know Robin and I hadn't been together long, but I already thought of them as family. Thought of Roland as my son and Robin…" she trailed off.

"I know." Snow said and then paused. Unsure how to bring up what she wanted to say next. "Emma told me what's going on with you. You don't have to go through this alone.

Regina scoffed. "Well I'm afraid that I do. If I want to keep the Evil Queen at bay I have to open myself up to a life of pain and suffering. And if I don't keep her at bay… Well it's just not an option. I even made a second wish at the fountain. I wished the evil queen away so I could be free of everything she did. I did."

"We forgive you, you know," Snow offered.

"The problem is as long as she's inside me it doesn't matter. Her baggage, her karma. Call it what you want will always be there. Just another useless wish."

"You want a fresh start. I don't know for sure, but maybe that wish can come true after all. I believe this could be the end of the Evil Queen as long as you're sure that's what you want."

"I want her gone," Regina said forcefully.

"Then let's get rid of her." And with that Snow disappeared to get the potion the stranger had brought with him.

Regina shivered in the night air. She stuck her hands in her jacket pocket and felt Robin's letter.

 _I'm so proud of you, Regina._

 _You'll always be the heroine I fell in love with._

She shut her eyes. Was this heroic? She chose the easy way out before. She chose anger. She was angry now. But was this right? Wasn't ridding herself of the Evil Queen really just making the same choice she'd made with the curse? She cast the curse for a new beginning. A fresh start. But it had been short lived. She didn't regret it. She had Henry, but this…

 _I sense a noble battle between good and evil deep within your soul. It is imperative that you win for all of us._

Wasn't this giving up the battle? Maybe there was some truth to what Gold said. He was wrong. She didn't like the darkness. But the Evil Queen was part of her. She wasn't a different person. Everyone was always acting like she was a different person. But she was just Regina. She was good and bad. Light and dark. And she'd killed those people. She'd been a little insane at the time, but it was her. It wasn't some other person.

She was pulled from her thoughts as Emma and Snow walked back onto the roof.

Emma held the syringe.

Regina stared at it. Choices. Lives are defined by the choices we make. She had a choice to go into the tavern, she had a choice to forgive Snow, Robin had a choice to let her die. He loved her. All of her. He'd loved her when he knew she'd been responsible for Marian's death.

 _The future is not written by our past._

"Regina? You will only have a few moments while she's disoriented and without her magic. You're going to have to act quickly."

Regina looked at her.

"Maybe…maybe we shouldn't do this." Regina said.

"What? I know you're afraid to let go of the darkness, but Regina-" Emma was saying.

Regina frowned. Of course. Always assuming the worst. She rolled her eyes.

"I'm not afraid of letting go of the darkness. I want her gone." She paused. "But maybe it's not that simple. Maybe it shouldn't be that simple. I did all those things she did. She is me."

"But she doesn't have to be anymore," Emma argued.

"We can be the family we were always meant to be." Snow said.

"Yes. We can. But not by doing this. This is the easy way out. I've made a lifetime of bad choices taking the easy way out. I think maybe it's time that I learn to accept who I am and what I have done. Taking away the Evil Queen doesn't take away all the things I did. Nor does it make up for all the suffering I caused."

"What are you saying, Regina?"

"Robin loved me. He gave up his life for me. Knowing who I was. Knowing I was responsible for his wife's death. He still accepted me for who I am and loved me. Maybe it's time I learn to do the same."

Regina gasped as Snow launched herself into Regina pulling her into a hug.

"Oh, Regina! I'm so proud of you."

Emma was skeptical. "But Regina,"

Regina pulled herself away from Snow and turned around. "Magic isn't the answer to everything, Emma. I don't want the potion. Give it back to the good doctor."

Suddenly Regina was plunged into blackness.


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N: Thanks for reading! Characters still not mine.**_

Regina was falling. She landed with a thud on the grass.

"Regina. Regina, I was getting worried. Are you alright?"

She blinked. Robin. But it couldn't be Robin. "Regina."

She tried to sit up.

"Mom, you took so long. What happened?"

She blinked again. She was in Storybrooke. In the forest it appeared. And Robin was with her. He was reaching down to help her sit up. How was he?

"I don't…I don't understand." Regina said slowly and looked at Henry "How did we get back?" She turned to face Robin. "How are you here?"

"Get back from where?" Robin asked.

"New York."

"You were in New York?" Henry asked.

"We all were. Well, except Robin…" she trailed off.

Henry shook his head. "I was here in Storybrooke."

"Me too." David volunteered. "And Robin, you said you were here as well right?"

Robin swallowed as if the memory was painful. "Yes. I was here. And then I wasn't. And then I was."

 _Marian was dead. And then she wasn't._

Regina looked at Robin and she knew. He'd shared her journey, until his was abruptly ended.

Regina held out her hand to Robin in a silent request for help getting up. Robin immediately came to her aid. Once standing she turned to the still open portal.

"Where's Emma?"

"She hasn't come through yet." David said concerned.

Regina held her hand over the open portal. "Hades did something to the portal. Probably to prevent us from making it back even if we managed to escape his trap in the underworld. It seems to have created some sort of netherworld that it trapped us in."

"Until we made the right choice?" Henry asked.

Regina looked at him wondering what his journey had been.

"Yes. A test of sorts. To see if we were worthy of returning to the land of the living I suppose." Regina suggested. "How long have you been waiting?"

"Robin was out first. How long ago do you think that was?" David asked.

"30 minutes maybe." Robin guessed.

"That's it?" Regina said. It seemed so much longer. Though really portal travel should only take a couple minutes.

"That's it? The Lord of the Underworld has my child and I've been sitting around here for thirty minutes waiting for the lot of you." Robin said in frustration.

He was alive. She didn't care that he was shouting. That he was angry again. He was alive. She wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly.

Henry and Charming looked at each other in surprise. The move was very uncharacteristic of Regina.

Robin pulled Regina in tighter.

"I'm okay." Robin said softly. Regina nodded in her arms and pulled away composing herself.

"I think we need to compare our journeys and come up with a plan to stop Hades." Regina said.

"First, I need to get my daughter back." Robin said.

"No." Regina stated immediately.

"Regina…" Robin began.

"No. We are defeating Hades first. I won't let you go in there."

"It wasn't real, Regina." Robin argued. "I need to get my daughter."

David frowned. "First, we need to get Emma out of this portal. Why wouldn't she be out?"

"Clearly she hasn't passed the test." Regina said.

"That's absurd. Emma always makes the right choice."

Regina rolled her eyes.

"Maybe she got out first and went looking for us." David continued. "I suppose we could check the loft."

Henry pulled out his phone. "Why don't I just call her?"

"Oh right, good idea. And I'll call Snow." David said.

There were too many thoughts swirling around in Regina's head. She needed to focus. She needed to connect the dots. Zelena. She needed to get her sister alone and try to get her to listen. It hadn't worked before, but maybe this time it would. Maybe she could change her approach. She couldn't let Robin die again. She couldn't loose him.

"She's not answering. Mom. Mom!" Regina felt Robin shake her slightly and she became aware of the fact that Henry was calling her. She moved to her son.

"Okay. Okay. It's going to be alright, Henry. Maybe her journey is a little longer. I was in there longer than the rest of you."

"But what if she's trapped in the portal? We have to go back in after her." Henry started toward the portal. Regina sprung into motion and grabbed him. She was surprised how strong he was as he resisted her hold. Her little boy wasn't little anymore.

"Henry. Stop. Listen to me. You can't go in the portal. We aren't going to leave Emma trapped, but you can't go in after her. Stay with your grandfather." She turned him toward David, who having hung up with Snow pulled Henry farther back from the portal.

Regina stepped closer and held her hands over the portal again. She didn't recognize the spell. But Hades was a demi-god ruler of the underworld so of course he would know spells she didn't. She could try to remove it, but it was risky since she didn't really know what she was dealing with.

"David, take Henry and wait for me at the loft. Robin, you go too." Regina said.

"I'm not leaving you alone, Regina." Robin stated firmly.

"And I'm not going anywhere without Emma." Henry said.

Regina turned to Henry. "Yes. You are. You may be growing up, but you are still my son and you will do what I tell you to. Now go with David. Quickly. We've wasted enough time being out in the open. Hades will find us if we stay out here too long."

"No. Emma's my mom too, and I'm not leaving. She would let me stay. She would understand. You never understand me."

Regina took a deep breath. With the New York memories fresh and the attitude Henry was giving her, she wanted to throw a fireball at something.

But instead, she forced herself to calm down and took a step toward Henry, gently taking his hands.

"Henry. I know you are worried about Emma, but I need you to trust me. I will not leave this portal until we have her back. I promise. But I need you to do what I asked. Hades is very dangerous."

"He's no more dangerous now than when we were all in the underworld and you let me come there."

Is this what teenagers were like? All this attitude and back talk? Regina wondered if she'd have the patience for teenage Henry.

"Okay. Let's all stay here for a minute." Regina said. "Why don't you tell me about what happened to you in the portal."

She sat down on the grass with her back to the portal and motioned for Henry to sit in front of her. "You can watch for Emma while you tell me."

Henry hesitated, but finally sat down. Robin and David stood on either side of Regina, effectively blocking Henry's route to the portal and keeping an eye on anyone who might approach their group.

"After we stepped into the portal, I saw blackness and then I landed here with all of you." He continued, telling much the same story Regina had experienced until after her confrontation in the clock tower with Emma. "I went into Mr. Gold's shop and got some money and then I took the book out. I was going to write the Olympian crystal into my hand, but when I started to write all I could think about was my promise to the sorcerer's apprentice."

He stopped and looked at Regina. "And then I thought about how much you regretted using dark magic" he looked down at his lap unable to face Regina. "And how much you suffered because of your choices."

She reached out and squeezed Henry's hand. "It's okay, Henry."

"I didn't want to be like you." He continued to look down, but Regina just squeezed his hand encouragingly.

"It's okay." She assured him again, but internally, she was relieved that no one could see her face at that moment, because she was pretty sure she wasn't successful in hiding the hurt and pain his words caused.

Robin squeezed Regina's shoulder in a show of support for her.

"And I was afraid I would be. Because I knew it was wrong. So I put the pen down. And told Violet I couldn't do it and we needed to find you and Emma. And then everything went black. And I was back here."

Henry looked up then. Regina was smiling. "I'm so proud of you." She hugged him tightly.

"Unfortunately, that doesn't help us find Emma." David said.

"Okay. So the prior to Henry's choice, did everyone have basically the same encounter?" Regina asked.

David nodded.

"Mine stops a little sooner, but yes, it sounds just like Henry's." Robin said.

"Alright. Let's assume that Hades has this Olympian crystal. We're going to need Zelena and Gold on our side if we're going to have any chance. David, take Henry to Snow and then go find Gold. I'll get Emma and then find we'll find my sister."

Henry looked ready to protest again. "Listen to your mother, Henry. The crystal is dangerous." David said as he grabbed Henry's arm and pulled Henry with him.

* * *

Regina paced in front of the portal.

"Regina, we're wasting time. We should go find Zelena."

"I told Henry I'd get Emma out."

"And can you?"

"I don't know." She huffed.

"Then maybe we should focus on your sister and once they find Gold he can help you out."

She frowned. "I don't even know where to look for Zelena."

"You don't think city hall would be the most likely option?" Robin asked.

"We're not going there."

"Regina, it wasn't real. I'll be fine."

"I'm not taking that chance."

"Well, it's not your choice." Robin said.

Regina turned away as she felt all of the things she'd felt when she held him in her arms wash over her. She was emotionally exhausted from the stupid portal spell and the trouble was just starting. Couldn't she ever just have a moment to breathe?

Her phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out quickly.

"Yes, David? He's not? And no one's seen him? Are you sure? Well, if he's trapped, he's never getting out. That imp is incapable of making a good choice." She paused. "Why don't you come keep an eye on the portal, while I go find Zelena. I know David, but I don't know what the spell was. It's risky removing it without all the information…If she refuses to help, I'll come back immediately and try what I can. Wait, David…can you, can you not tell Henry that I'm leaving the portal?" She listened a moment longer and then hung up.

"We'll go after Zelena as soon as David gets here." Regina said to Robin. "Gold is missing. Probably stuck in the portal with Emma."

* * *

The Pawn Shop bore the closed sign on the window and was dark and still, but in the back room, Gold stood talking on the phone while holding Pandora's box in his hand.

"You forget. We're in my kingdom now." He said ominously as he hung up. Now he just had to be a little patient. He'd get the crystal one way or another and free Belle. Foolish, naïve Belle. How could she think her father loved her more than he did? Her father would rather let her stay under a sleeping curse than wake her to be with Rumple. Absurd. Didn't the lunatic understand she wasn't simply sleeping? It was called a curse for a reason.

At least the heroes were out of his way for now. He didn't doubt that they'd make it back, they always seemed to pull through at the last minute, but they didn't know he was back already and with Hades to deal with they wouldn't be bothering him immediately. Now he just needed to make sure he had everything ready and then come up with a plan to get that crystal. Maybe he could even get the heroes to do some of the work for him. Hades and Zelena did have the baby. So manipulating Regina might be easy enough. He smiled as he began to retrieve the other ingredients he'd need.

* * *

Robin was still pacing, and generally refusing to talk except to insist every few minutes that they were wasting time and they needed to go.

Regina was trying to ignore him. She understood he was worried, but she wasn't about to go back through the tunnels and let Hades kill him again. They needed a different plan. She needed a way to get her sister alone. Maybe she should try to bring down the protection spell Zelena had surely put on city hall. That would draw her out. And, with any luck, minus Hades. She contemplated sending Robin to check on Roland while she waited for David, but she was too afraid that he'd immediately take off for the tunnels. She was sure he'd be able to navigate them without her, having been through the same journey she had in the portal and she was too afraid of losing him. Although if he was alone, that would change things. Hades had been trying to kill her not Robin.

"Regina, nothing is happening. Do we really need to wait here for David? Let's just go," Robin complained.

"I told Henry I wouldn't leave until Emma was safe. I'm already breaking my promise by leaving at all. The least I can do is wait for David to arrive to keep an eye on things. If the portal starts to close, I'll need to try to undo the spell. Once it closes, I would assume she's just trapped." Regina said.

Robin just continued pacing.

Regina took a deep breath. Patience was not her strong suit and he was testing hers. She was exhausted. Emotionally. She had been through so much. Even though the portal hadn't been real, it felt real. And prior to that, she'd had to say goodbye to both her parents in the underworld. She wanted to go home and sleep. And forget about all of this. Of course that wasn't an option. She'd made the "right" choice to continue fighting her darker tendencies and the right thing to do was to help her friends and her boyfriend. Boyfriend. The word didn't really cover what Robin was to her. Maybe that's why she generally thought of him simply as her soulmate. Speaking of which, now that she was thinking about it, she could definitely feel the worry, frustration, and anger building in Robin. Come on, David, she thought. Hurry up.

As if in answer to her plea, David pulled up in his truck and jumped out quickly approaching the pair.

"Still nothing?" David asked.

Regina shook her head. "No. We'll just go talk to Zelena and then I'll come back. Maybe we should have Snow and Henry try to find something on the spell in the library. It would be so much easier to remove if I knew exactly what it was."

David nodded. "I'll call Snow. Maybe she can recruit Archie or some of the others to help as well."

Regina nodded and walked to Robin. She slipped her hand into his tentatively. "Ready?" He glanced down at their hands and then nodded. She wasn't sure the gesture was welcome. She was thinking about dropping his hand again, when he gave hers a light squeeze. She sighed internally with relief.

They started to walk away from the portal. Robin turned to Regina. "Can't you?" He gestured with his hands.

"Use magic?" Regina asked.

He nodded. "We've wasted enough time."

Regina hesitated. She could, of course, but… "Maybe you should go check on Roland, while I try to talk to Zelena." Regina suggested.

Robin frowned. "No. I'm going to get my daughter back. She's my daughter. I'm not going to let you talk to Zelena without me."

My daughter. Robin always said "my daughter." Regina had barely even held her niece since she was born. How were they supposed to ever be a family? She swallowed and shut her eyes pushing away the emotions.

"As you wish," she said as she raised her arm and they were surrounded by smoke.

They landed in front of city hall. Regina sighed. This plan wasn't much better than the previous one. "Let me talk to her first, please, Robin. You're angry right now, and we need her to listen." Regina requested.

Robin was furious. Regina was the one that got them into this mess in the first place. She'd wanted to go to the underworld and she was the one that insisted he hand over his precious little girl to her monstrous sister. "Regina, I followed you to Camelot. I followed you to the Underworld. This is my daughter. I'm not following you. You gave her to Zelena and now she's with Hades and I don't know if I'll ever see her again. All because I trusted you. I'm not making that mistake again."

Regina sucked in a breath. She felt like he'd actually punched her. She fought to keep the emotion off her face. He was upset. She needed to stay calm. He didn't mean it. He loved her. She had made a mistake. She could acknowledge that.

"Robin, I'm sorry. You know I'm sorry about what happened. I'm trying to make it right. I know you're angry with me. And Zelena. But she is my sister. I think I do understand her and I believe I can get through to her. Please give me a chance to fix this."

Robin looked at Regina. He could see how sincere she was. He was so angry and worried he could hardly see straight. He felt like a failure. But Regina had always had his best interests at heart. She'd tried to save Marian for him. She looked out for Roland. She'd tried to take his place when the creature from the underworld came for him.

Regina tried to remain calm as Robin just stared at her. Was it all going to end anyway? Would she still lose him? Maybe she really just didn't deserve him. It was her fault his life had been turned upside down. If he didn't love her, Zelena wouldn't have continued the farce of being his dead wife. He wouldn't have to share his daughter with her. He wouldn't have nearly died in Camelot and he wouldn't be in danger right now.

"Alright. You can try first, but if it doesn't work, we're doing things my way," Robin conceded.

Regina nodded and raised her hand to try to bring down her sister's spell. She wasn't really trying very hard. She just needed to get Zelena's attention.

It worked. Zelena appeared in a cloud of green smoke.

"Regina!" Zelena said. "You made it! I was worried about you."

Robin glared. "Where's my daught-"

"Zelena, we need to talk," Regina said cutting Robin off. He'd just agreed to let her try first. Men.

Zelena frowned looking at Robin. "She's with Hades. I just had to come see who was messing with my protection spell. I haven't had a chance to talk to Snow yet to explain that Hades is good now."

"That's the thing, Zelena. I don't think Hades is telling you the whole story. He tried to trap us in the underworld."

"That's not true! He helped you. He removed your names from the graves so you could come back."

"He did remove our names, but then he trapped us in the library so we couldn't get to the portal."

"No, you're wrong. He wouldn't do that!" Zelena said.

"Zelena, please listen to me. I know you want to believe that, but I think he also placed a spell on the portal. We were trapped inside it for quite a while. Emma's still stuck. And I saw things. Things I think might be happening."

Zelena started to interrupt again, but Regina forged on. "Hades had a crystal. He used it to..." Regina started to shake. The memory was so painful even if it hadn't been real. She felt Robin's hand gently rubbing her forearm.

"He tried to kill Regina with it." He said.

"That's absurd. You're fine, Regina. Whatever you saw wasn't real." Zelena said.

"He tried. But, but Robin stepped in front of me and it killed him instead." She stepped forward toward Zelena. "Zelena, I'm not lying. I believe in you. I believe you've changed. But Hades hasn't. He has a crystal doesn't he?"

Zelena paused. "Yes…he does…but he wouldn't try to kill you unless you were trying to kill him."

"I don't want to kill him Zelena, and we're not going to take your daughter out of your life. I know you love her."

Robin opened his mouth to argue. She was his daughter. What was Regina doing making decisions for his daughter again? She had no claim to the baby.

Regina put a hand out to stop Robin. Zelena was listening. That was something.

"I do love her," Zelena said. "Hades would never hurt her."

"But Zelena, she's Robin's daughter. Not Hades. You can't keep her away from her father. You know it's not right. You need to let him have his daughter while we work this out."

Zelena was silent. "What about Hades?"

"We can talk more about that. I trust you, Zelena, but I don't trust him. He's not being honest with you. But for now, just bring Robin his daughter, and then we can talk more and figure things out. We can make sure no one gets hurt."

Zelena looked from Robin to Regina. Robin still looked angry and ready to charge her, but Regina was calm. Pleading. She said she trusted her. She had given her the baby to begin with which was a big sign of trust.

"Please, Zelena?" Regina implored.

She was asking her. Begging her really. Not telling her or just taking what she wanted. That was a change.

"If I bring her to you, when will I see her again?" Zelena asked.

Regina exhaled in relief. "When would you like to? Tomorrow? When we've all had some time to think and talk more?"

Zelena was silent. To Robin and Regina it seemed like forever.

"Alright. You can have her tonight," Zelena said as she disappeared.

"What if it's a trick?" Robin said. "Maybe she's bringing Hades back instead my daughter."

"Let's just give her a chance, Robin."

* * *

Zelena appeared back in Regina's office and immediately moved to get the baby. She reached down and pulled the little girl into her arms.

"Mommy loves you little one. She'll be back for you soon." Zelena said kissing her lightly and then securing her in the carrier.

"What are you doing?" Hades asked. "Where are you taking her?

"I'm going to let Robin have her for the night," Zelena said.

"You can't do that. She's your daughter. Why would you let them take her away?" Hades said. "I can stop them. You don't have to give them anything anymore."

"I know. But he is her father. And he's taken good care of her. And he's worried. And I know what that feels like. And this is a goodwill gesture. It will let them know they really can trust me. It's only a night. And then I have some bargaining power to keep you safe." Zelena said.

"You don't need bargaining power to keep me safe. We have this." He held up the crystal. "They are the ones who need to worry about their safety."

"But it doesn't have to come to that. If we do this, we're showing we have no ill intent and they'll leave us alone. Leave you alone. And no one needs to die. We can just be happy. You and me, and the baby," Zelena said.

"Zelena, you're wrong. You can't trust them." Hades warned.

Zelena held the carrier in one arm and reached up to touch Hades face gently with her other hand.

"If that's the case, I'm confident you'll be able to get her back for me and take care of everything." She leaned in and kissed him lightly on the lips before disappearing in her green smoke.


	4. Chapter 4

Henry sat with Snow at the library flipping through books. He was frustrated. He still hadn't heard anything about Emma. Where was she? And why were they wasting time here. They weren't going to learn anything about that stupid spell. What kind of stupid spell tested you on making decisions anyway? That didn't seem like a real thing. His mom didn't even seem to care that Emma was stuck. She wouldn't even try to bring the spell down. All she cared about was that Robin was alive again. And getting the stupid baby back. Why was everyone so worried about the baby? It's not like Zelena was going to hurt her own baby. Emma should be the priority. He slammed the book shut.

"No luck?" Snow asked.

"This is stupid. We're not going to find anything. Mom just doesn't want to try because it's Emma." Henry said. "If it was Robin, she'd have already tried to undo the spell."

Snow sighed. "Henry, you know that's not true. Regina and your mom may not be best friends, but you know they would always do everything possible to protect the other because they both understand how important they both are to you."

"Then why won't she try? She's used magic on lots of things she didn't understand before. That's a lame excuse." Henry argued.

"I know it may seem that way, but we have to trust Regina. She knows a lot more about magic than either of us do," Snow said.

"I hate magic. I knew I should have destroyed it," Henry said.

Snow frowned in confusion.

"Before. I was going to destroy it with some dynamite, but Regina stopped me."

Snow noticed the use of Regina's name instead of "mom" but didn't comment. Henry had been through so much more than a boy his age should have to. It was normal that he'd have some built up anger.

"Well, I don't think the dynamite would have destroyed magic, do you? And you could have gotten hurt. I think Regina was just trying to protect you by stopping you."

Henry shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe the dynamite wouldn't have worked, but I should have kept looking. My dad was going to destroy magic so it wasn't a dumb idea."

"No one said it was dumb, Henry. You're very smart."

Henry rolled his eyes. Everyone always treated him like a child. Snow opened her mouth to continue, but Neal chose that moment to start crying. Snow reached down to rock him a little in his carrier. Henry picked up another book. He started flipping through it. As soon as they got his mom out of the portal, he was going to do what he should have done a long time ago. He was going to destroy magic. And he was going to do it without the stupid author's pen.

* * *

Robin was pacing. Again.

"She'll be back, Robin." Regina assured.

"She has five minutes and then I'm going in."

"How? She hasn't taken down the protection spell." Regina pointed out.

"I don't need that. You already showed me the tunnels."

Regina glared at him. They waited in silence for a moment both lost in their own thoughts. Regina broke the silence. "You don't think he'd hurt Zelena when she tries to bring the baby to you, do you? I mean, he must love her or his heart wouldn't have started beating again, right?"

"Zelena can take care of herself."

"Thanks for the support," Zelena said as she appeared with the baby.

"Zelena! Thank you!" Regina said as Robin snatched the little girl from Zelena's arms.

"I want her back tomorrow," Zelena said.

"Of course you can see her tomorrow," Regina agreed.

"No." Robin said firmly.

Zelena's eyes widened. "Was this just a trick? I thought you said you trusted me!" Zelena yelled at Regina.

"Wait! Zelena, I do. You can see her tomorrow. But just because I'm trusting you and I believe you are changing, doesn't mean that everything is erased. We need to talk about this and figure out what's best and ease into things. Robin's been worried sick. Let's talk about it tomorrow when we've all calmed down."

"You can trust her all you want, but she's my daughter and _I_ don't trust Zelena." Robin said. "And I can speak for myself, thank you."

Zelena opened her mouth to threaten them both, but remained silent when she saw the hurt flash in her sister's eyes. Regina blinked.

"Of course, you're right. She's your daughter, I just thought it would be better for all of you if you could work things out peacefully," she paused. "You both love her."

Regina needed to get out of here. She couldn't keep playing mediator. She wasn't good at this. She wasn't good at making peace and calming people down. The only person she'd ever been able to calm down was Henry. And if today was any indication, she couldn't even do that right anymore. As if it wasn't hard enough for her to accept that Robin and her sister shared something she could never have, she was stuck in the middle. On the outskirts. Robin clearly didn't think her opinion mattered at all.

Zelena looked at her little sister and decided if Regina was risking everything to trust her, she could meet her half way.

"Alright. I'll see all of you tomorrow and we can talk about the future then," Zelena agreed.

Robin stayed silent. He didn't want Zelena to take his little girl away. He didn't trust he'd ever get her back. Zelena had magic. She could take his daughter and disappear. But arguing more right now was likely to cause her to snatch the baby back then and there. "Fine," he agreed.

"Robin, if you want to head back to Roland and the Merry Men, I'll catch up with you later. I need to talk to Zelena about the portal," Regina said softly.

Robin nodded and walked away cooing at his little girl. Regina took a deep breath. She couldn't break down over Robin right now. She didn't understand why he was being so distant with her. She'd fixed her mistake. He had his daughter back. And he was alive. She should be over the moon, but instead she felt like he was slipping away from her anyway. But now was not the time. She had to get Emma back for Henry.

"Hurry up, Regina. Hades isn't happy and he'll probably be down to check on me soon and you know how much he dislikes you," Zelena said.

"Do you have any idea what kind of spell Hades could have put on the portal? Emma hasn't made it out and I'm afraid to try to break such a powerful spell without knowing what it is. I don't know what kind of repercussions that could have. I'd ask Gold, but no one's seen him, so it appears he's stuck as well." Regina said.

"Gold's not stuck. He's here. Arrived right after we did," Zelena offered. "I was with Hades the whole time and he didn't perform any spells. Maybe Gold did it."

Regina frowned. She was sure it was Hades not Gold. She knew Gold's magic. But if Gold was in town, she just had to track him down and get him to help.

"Zelena, I know you don't believe me, but please be careful with Hades. His intentions aren't what you think they are. He wants us all gone so he can take over Storybrooke. I don't think he would hurt you, but he wants to hurt the rest of us," Regina said.

"You're wrong. He doesn't want to hurt anyone, but if you try to hurt him, you'll be sorry." And having delivered her warning Zelena disappeared.

* * *

Regina decided to check the flower shop first. If Gold was back, the first thing he would do would be to try to wake Belle. And he'd need Maurice to do that.

The flower shop was a mess and the only thing she'd found was Belle's father dead on the floor. Good work, Gold, kill the man who saved your wife. But if he'd saved her, Gold wouldn't have been angry. He must have refused. But why would he refuse to help his daughter? And it still didn't make sense for Gold to kill the only man who could save Belle. Unless he had another plan.

* * *

Regina stood in front of Gold's shop. Should she call for backup or go in on her own? Regina wondered. Who could back her up against Gold? Zelena was staying loyal to Hades and Emma was trapped. No one else would be able to do anything if Gold did have ill intentions. She'd best do this by herself she decided.

She tried the door, but it was locked and the "closed" sign was still up. But if Gold had another plan for waking Belle it would definitely involve magic, which meant he'd be here working on it.

She waved her hand over the lock and was surprised to find that the lock unlatched without any complications. She stepped inside.

* * *

Gold frowned as he heard the bells chime on the door to the store. Someone was here. The heroes must have learned he was back. Well, he needed someone to help get the crystal anyway.

He stepped into the shop.

"I don't recall inviting you in, dearie."

"And I don't have time for games. I need your help with a spell," Regina said.

"You never did learn patience. Or the art of false pleasantries," Gold said.

Regina rolled her eyes. "I prefer a more direct approach."

"Well then, let me be direct. I have no interest in helping you. You don't have anything I want."

"Maybe not yet, but I paid a visit to the florist's and it appears you were unable to get the help you needed to wake your bookworm." Gold narrowed his eyes. "If you hadn't gone and killed him, perhaps someone who he hates just a little bit less could have convinced him to help wake Belle. That was a bit short-sighted don't you think?" Regina continued.

"Well, too late for that now, dearie. So you can just be on your way unless you'd like to join him."

"I'm not here for a fight. Just seeking some advice from my mentor," Regina said. "I thought perhaps if you helped me with the spell, we could all work together on getting you what you need to wake Belle. You are missing something, right?" Regina continued.

Gold frowned. How did she know he was missing something? Did she know about the crystal?

"What is it that you need help with?" Gold asked.

"Emma is stuck in the portal because of some spell Hades put on it. But I don't recognize the spell so I don't know the possible complications of removing it while Emma's still in there."

"There's no spell on the portal. I came through fine and you obviously did as well. Though I must say you're looking a little rough your majesty."

Regina glared at him. "You came through at nearly the same time as Zelena and Hades. He wouldn't have placed the spell yet. And I passed the spell's test."

"Test? Spells don't have tests."

"Really? What about the one Emma had to pass to get to the ambrosia for Hook?" Regina asked.

Well, maybe the Queen had learned to pay attention, Gold thought.

"Just come take a look and see if you can help. I swear if you make me go to the Blue Fairy for help…"

"Now that sounds like a fine plan."

Regina shut her eyes. What was it that Archie had suggested she do before speaking when she was upset? Oh right. Counting. Of course the cricket would think counting could calm a person down. Instead, she inhaled slowly and reminded herself this was for Henry. And really, everyone knew Regina would do anything for Henry.

"I know you don't care about Emma. Or even Henry. I'm beginning to doubt you even care about Belle other than the fact that you want her. But I know what your plan is and I will do everything in my power to stop you if you don't help me get Emma."

Gold took a threatening step toward Regina and then pushed her into the wall with a wave of magic.

"Do you really think you could stop me?"

The magic was firmly pressing Regina against the wall and Gold was advancing on her. He reached up and took her chin in his hand forcing her to look at him.

"You are no match for me. I don't need your help, dearie. And if you try to stand in my way, I will crush you." He let go of her and released the magic. "Now get out of my shop and tell your little posse of do-gooders to do the same."

Gold turned his back and walked back into the backroom without a second glance back at Regina.

Well, as unpleasant as that was at least he had reminded her of another magic practioner who could help. As distasteful as Regina found Blue, she did have a vast knowledge of magic. Knowledge that rivaled Gold's. But for that excursion, Regina would need back-up.

* * *

Snow saw Regina a fraction of a second before Henry. And Regina hadn't spotted them so Snow caught a glimpse of what Regina normally would have hidden. Her exhaustion. Snow noticed the way Regina's shoulders were just a little slumped and her walk was just a little slower and softer than normal. Things must not be going well Snow deduced. Well, the least she could do was give Regina a warning before Henry spotted her.

"Regina," Snow said addressing her.

Regina's head snapped up and her shoulders lifted instantly. The defeated look was gone as Regina met Snow's eyes. Henry immediately stopped reading the book and looked up at Regina.

"Where's my mom?" He asked.

Regina's face tensed as she struggled to hide the hurt that the question caused. He didn't mean it like that, she told herself. He's just worried about Emma.

"I'm still working on it, Henry. Actually, that's why I'm here," she turned to address Snow. "I was hoping you might come with me to enlist Blue's help. Zelena won't believe that Hades did anything to the portal and Gold," she paused, "Well, Gold is being Gold and refusing to help."

"You said you wouldn't leave until you got her out," Henry accused.

"Henry, I left David with her. I'm doing this to get her out," Regina defended.

"Did you even try? You just don't want to get her out so you're making excuses. You never needed anyone to help you break a spell before," Henry argued.

Regina's eyes narrowed. She did not like the tone her son was taking with her one bit. She pursed her lips, using all her restraint not to reprimand him. He was upset. They'd all been through a lot and as much as he didn't want to believe it, he was still a child.

"Henry, that's not fair. You know how powerful Hades is. You don't want either of your mothers to get hurt from tampering with a spell we know nothing about," Snow defended.

Regina gave her a soft smile. This friendship between them was weird. But good. Regina had to admit she liked having Snow as a friend. If only her mother hadn't interfered maybe they could have always had this.

"Why don't I take you back to the portal and you and Neal can wait with David while Snow and I get Blue," Regina suggested hoping to appease him.

Henry hesitated. He wanted to go back to the portal. He wanted to be there when Emma came out. But he wanted to keep researching. He hadn't figured out a plan to destroy magic yet. He looked down at the book.

Regina immediately understood his indecision. "You can take some books with you so you can continue researching. Without Belle, you're our best researcher," she smiled at him.

"Okay," Henry agreed picking up three books and putting them into his backpack before grabbing a couple more to carry in his hands. "Can you just poof us there? We've wasted enough time."

Regina sighed internally. She was tired. And she needed to save her magic. Why did everyone seem to think it was endless? Magic ran out the same as energy did. "Of course, sweetheart." She waved her hand.

* * *

The forest was a blurry, unfocused mess of green and brown and white swimming in front of Regina. She blinked. She stumbled and blinked again. She took another step trying to get her bearings.

"Whoah," David's voice came from behind her as she felt big hands grabbing her waist and steadying her. "I thought this poofing stuff didn't bother you."

Regina blinked again and the forest finally came into focus. She still felt a bit nauseous, but the dizziness was abating. "Ha. It's not the magical travel. Or poofing as you Charmings like to call it. It's this damn forest," Regina said. She turned and looked around. The portal was still there. She felt the intense magic radiating from it. She really hoped nothing else came through the portal while they were waiting for Emma. She had her hands full as it was. "The Savior hasn't graced us with her presence yet?" Regina inquired as she stepped out of David's arms.

"No. Unfortunately, it's still just me," David said. "You don't think the portal will close while she's still in it, do you?"

Regina frowned. Why did he have to go and say that in front of Henry? She'd wondered that herself, but had been hoping the idea wouldn't occur to Henry. "I don't think it will close until everyone who went in has come back out. That's how all the portals I've seen have worked."

"But this portal is different. You've never seen a portal with a test before have you?" Henry asked.

Regina shook her head. "No, but I think it still works the same way. Anyway, all the more reason for Mary Margaret and I to go. Are you ready, dear?" She asked turning to Snow.

"Go?" David questioned. "I thought you were back to try to remove the spell."

"I need Blue's help," Regina said. "I still don't know what spell it is. Now, as I think we've established, time is of the essence. Just guard the portal and keep an eye on Henry and Neal."

And with that she turned and started walking out of the forest at a brisk pace.

"We're walking back to town?" Snow asked as she jogged a little to catch up. "I thought time was of the essence, shouldn't we-"

"If you want me to have any energy left to remove the spell, I can't go transporting everyone all over town." Regina interrupted.

Regina's tone was harsh, but Snow immediately regretted asking. Regina was clearly exhausted. And despite Regina's efforts to make light of it, she'd been dizzy from taking them back to the portal.

"Regina, are you okay?" Snow asked gently.

Regina felt a sob catch in her throat at the gentle concern in Snow's voice. No. She definitely wasn't okay. But she didn't have time to be not okay. She had to get Emma out. And then she had to stop Hades. And stop Gold. And make sure that Robin didn't die again. Stop. She told herself. She couldn't think about all that. She had to focus on one task at a time or she was going to have a nervous breakdown right here in the middle of the forest.

Snow put her hand on Regina's shoulder. "It's going to be okay, Regina. Blue is going to help."

"I can't take a hope speech right now, Snow. Can you just be quiet for two minutes?" Regina snapped, although she was pretty sure her voice was much less forceful than she'd meant it to be.

"I don't know what I missed, Regina, but we're going to fix this. Together. We'll fix it all. We're out of the underworld."

Regina just kept walking.


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N: This one's a little shorter. Thanks for reading!**_

The convent was quiet and serene. No one was out on the grounds. During the curse that would have meant it was prayer hour, but now Regina wasn't sure what it meant. Most of the fairies still lived at the convent, though a few had taken up residence elsewhere. Regina paused on the sidewalk. She really didn't want to do this.

"Come on, it will be fine, Regina," Snow encouraged and started up the stairs.

Regina sighed and followed her. Tink was really the only fairy she could tolerate and even she and Tink had a tenuous relationship at best. Despite the fairy's hopeful nature and tendency to believe in the good in people, Regina knew Tink was still angry with her for not going in to see Robin the first time. Maybe if she had gone in, her soulmate would be here with her now instead of in the woods with his two children that weren't hers.

The door to the convent opened startling Regina out of her thoughts.

"You're back. I thought I sensed an increased presence of dark magic," Blue said by way of greeting.

Regina narrowed her eyes. The pretentious little bug. "Well it's not my dark magic you're sensing. The Dark One's back and the Lord of the Underworld also came back with us, courtesy of my soulmate's baby mama."

"Regina!" Snow admonished.

Regina rolled her eyes. "Please, Blue, spare me the lecture. I wouldn't be here if I had any other choice. Emma's stuck in the portal we came back through because Hades put some sort of a spell on it."

Blue frowned. "Then how are you here? Was it something blocking light magic?"

"No. I have light magic if you recall," Regina said defensively.

Snow looked between the two magic users. This was not going well.

"Maybe you could come with us back to the portal, Blue. That way you could check it out yourself," Snow suggested. "Regina could give you any information she has on it while we walk back."

Blue nodded. "Yes. Yes. Of course. Let me just…" she trailed off as she disappeared from sight, reappearing wearing a sweater and holding her wand. "Let's go."

As Regina led Snow and Blue back she filled Blue in on what she had deduced about the spell and when Hades placed it.

"My concern is that if I try to unravel it, Emma could get trapped, or it could have unintended consequences," Regina said as they neared the portal.

Blue nodded, but didn't respond. She continued toward the portal and gently waved her wand over it.

Henry, David, Snow, and Regina just watched. After a few minutes, Regina took a step forward to stand beside the fairy.

"So? If we unravel the spell, will Emma be able to get out?" Regina asked.

"This is a powerful spell, your majesty," Blue said.

"I'm aware of that. But we can't just leave her there," Regina said. "And it's getting late. We can't just leave this portal open. What if someone else falls in? Or comes out?"

Snow had taken Neal into her arms and David had his hands on Henry's shoulders ensuring that Regina and Blue had some space.

The portal seemed to flicker and grow smaller.

"It's already closing. Emma must have failed the test," Blue said.

"What's happening?" Henry called noticing the change in the portal. He tried to move, but David held him back.

"Let your mother and Blue handle this, Henry," David instructed.

"No! She's not going to do anything. She's just been wasting time so this would happen!" Henry argued.

Regina heard him and flinched. "We have to do something now, Blue. Are you going to tell me what to do, or shall I do this blind?"

Blue looked at Regina. She took in the palor of Regina's face. She looked worn out. Emotionally and physically. And the magic radiating from Regina felt weak. Blue wasn't sure the Queen had it in her to take down Hades powerful spell.

"You don't have time to unravel it. We're going to have to use the savior's brand of magic for this one."

Regina raised an eyebrow in question.

"Brute force. We'll punch a hole through the spell and then pull her out. I think I can hold the portal open, but you'll have to reach in with your magic and pull her out."

Regina nodded and rubbed her hands together. She could do this. She had to do this. Henry was counting on her. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the way Blue was looking at her. Blue didn't think she could do it. Where was Robin when she needed him? She needed his faith in her. It was unwavering. Well, it had been unwavering. She wasn't even sure of that anymore. She shook her head. She had to focus.

"Okay. Let's do this."

Blue waved her wand and magic shot out of it.

"Now!" Blue instructed. Regina shut her eyes. She held out her hands and let her magic flow out reaching for Emma. Searching for the familiar feel of Emma's magic. She shuddered. She felt darkness around her. She couldn't feel Emma. Where was she? She squeezed her eyes shut tighter and focused on sending her magic out farther.

Snow watched as a soft light purple stream of magic shot from Regina's hands. She held her breath as she noticed the portal again shrinking. She saw Regina's whole body start to shake with the effort she was exerting.

Regina kept reaching. Forcing her magic deeper into the portal and then finally she felt it. She felt Emma's magic. She latched onto it and tugged focusing all her magic on pulling Emma out.

"It's closing. You have to hurry." Blue's disembodied words floating into Regina's consciousness and she pulled harder on her magic. She pulled and pulled and then she was falling. Was she in the portal too? Her head ached as it hit hard ground and she could feel herself losing consciousness.

"Regina!"

"Mom!"

"Emma!"

The voices and names blurred together as Regina tried to open her eyes. She felt soft warm magic surrounding her head and the ache lessened. She opened her eyes to see Snow leaning over her and Blue standing just above her, slowing putting her wand into a pocket in her skirt.

"Regina, you got her just in time. Thank you," Snow was saying.

Regina's eyes darted around taking in the scene. Henry was hugging Emma while David stood beside his daughter holding Neal. Hadn't Neal been with Snow, Regina wondered.

"Mom, I was so worried about you. I thought you were going to be stuck." Henry was saying.

At that Regina couldn't hold back her emotions. A tear slipped past her eyes and down her cheek. She was never going to be anyone's first choice.

Snow gently wiped away the tear. "Are you in pain, Regina? Are you okay? You were shaking so hard and you hit your head pretty hard when Emma knocked you over."

"I believe I've healed the head wound. Do you still feel pain, your majesty?" Blue inquired.

"No. No. I'm fine." Regina moved to stand up, but just sitting up brought a wave of dizziness. She shut her eyes to fight it off. She felt Snow's hands on her back, helping support her.

"Just take it slow," Snow said softly. Then she turned away from Regina. "David, we need to get everyone home. It's late. We can work on the battle plan tomorrow after everyone's gotten some sleep. Henry, you and Emma can ride in the bed of the truck so we can all fit."

Regina frowned and started opened her mouth to protest, but Blue jumped in before she could.

"I'll put a protection spell on the truck to ensure Henry's safety, your majesty," she offered.

Regina nodded slowly and accepted Snow's help in standing up. Snow frowned at that. Regina never accepted help without argument. She hoped a good night's sleep would be enough for Regina as she guided Regina to the truck.

* * *

"Regina. Regina. You're home." Snow's voice cut into Regina's subconscious waking her.

She frowned as she opened her eyes. She hadn't realized she'd fallen asleep. It was less than a ten minute drive. How could she have possibly fallen asleep that quickly? She blinked and took David's hand as he helped her out of the truck.

"Thank you," she offered.

He nodded. She turned to the back of the truck only to find that Henry wasn't moving from his spot next to Emma.

"Henry?" She asked.

"I'm staying with mom," he said.

Regina nodded. She could feel the emotions bubbling up again. What had she done to warrant his anger this time? She'd done what he asked. She saved Emma.

"He was just worried about, Emma. He'll be back to normal after a good night's sleep. Don't worry, Regina," David said softly.

If the idiot could read her feelings that easily she must be completely transparent right now.

Regina stepped toward the bed of the truck.

"Okay. Be safe. Sleep well, my little prince. I love you."

Her hands gripped the side of the truck tightly as she stood on her tiptoes to kiss Henry lightly on his forehead. She waited a second for his response.

"Night," he said dismissively. She stepped away from the truck and quickly turned her back and headed up her steps before anyone could see her emotions on display.

* * *

Regina leaned back against the door the second she shut it. The mansion was dark and quiet. Of course it was. No one was home. She wondered briefly what time it was. She hadn't heard from Robin since he'd taken the baby. Had she told him she'd meet him? She couldn't remember. She pulled out her phone. He hadn't called. She quickly called him. She listened as the phone continued ringing. What if something happened? Had Zelena changed her mind and gone after him? Or maybe Hades had.

"You've reached the voicemail box of 555-687-5897. Leave a message at the tone." Beep.

"I just wanted to make sure you made it back to camp okay and see if you were…I don't remember if I said I'd come by the camp, but I…it's been a long day and I'm just going to go to bed. I…You know how to reach me." She hung up.

She was a mess. She slid down the door. She should be happy. Emma was back. Everyone was safe. Robin was alive. Why did she feel so alone? A tear fell down her face. She brushed it away. She glanced at the stairs in front of her. She should go up to bed. But she really couldn't find the energy. So she just leaned her head back against the door and shut her eyes. She'd just rest a minute before going up to bed.

* * *

Robin walked back and forth in front of his tent bouncing his daughter. Roland had already gone to bed. His daughter wasn't usually so fussy. The camp was clearing out. Most of the men had gone to bed.

Little John approached.

"Is everything okay?" John asked.

"Besides the fact that my daughter's mother is the Wicked Witch and if that wasn't bad enough, she's living with the Lord of the Underworld?" Robin asked.

"I meant with you and the Queen," John said.

Robin frowned. "Why wouldn't it be?"

"Well, I guess I just assumed you'd be staying at her mansion instead of keeping the little ones out here." John said.

"This is my home, John."

John nodded. "You two are alright then?"

"She forced me to put my daughter in the hands of a mad-man and her deranged sister. And she agreed to let Zelena see my baby tomorrow," Robin said.

"She must have had a reason. You know she would never want anything bad to happen to your children," John said.

"Who does she think she is making decisions for my children?" Robin said angrily. "She could have gotten my daughter killed."

The baby picked up on Robin's angry tone and whimpered. Robin cooed soothingly at her. Just then his phone began ringing. He glanced at it as the noise fully woke his daughter who began crying outright.

"Great! Now she woke the baby," he said as he picked up the phone and threw it into the woods.

Roland chose that moment to peek out of the tent.

"Papa?"

"Roland, I thought you were asleep."

The little boy shook his head. "I woked up. Papa, are you mad at R'gina?"

Robin shut his eyes. His head hurt. His daughter was wailing and his son was awake again asking questions he didn't want to answer. He was mad at Regina. He was furious. But he was also pretty sure most of that anger was misplaced. He just wasn't ready to let go of the anger. He was scared. He was scared for his daughter. For his son. He remembered dying in the alternate portal world. He was afraid of leaving his children fatherless. Regina knew what happened and still she was trusting her sister. He was very angry.

"Papa?"

"Roland, go back to sleep," Robin said a bit forcefully.

Roland's lip trembled. John moved toward the little boy.

"Come on, little man. Let's get you bundled back up. I'm sure Regina will come see you tomorrow and you want to be well rested so you can have lots of fun, right?"

John climbed into the tent with Roland. Robin stared out into the woods where he'd thrown his phone. What if she'd been calling because she was in trouble? He should find the phone. He was furious with her, but he didn't want anything to happen to her. He'd look for the phone as soon as his daughter fell asleep. He sat down on a log and rocked her in his arms.

* * *

Henry tried to get Emma to talk about what happened in the portal, but she wasn't talking. To anyone. She'd asked David where Hook was and when he'd explained that Hook was in the underworld where they'd left him, she went silent. When they got back to the loft she went upstairs to bed immediately. Henry was relegated to sleeping on the couch, but he was happy about it because then he could stay up as late as he wanted reading with no one the wiser.

He'd stayed up most of the night, but hadn't really found anything. He finally drifted off to sleep around 5 a.m. so he wasn't pleased when he heard knocking at the door at 7 a.m.


	6. Chapter 6

_**A/N: Another shorter chapter. I don't typically respond to reviews, but I almost put a warning in the last chapter, so I did want to acknowledge that Henry and Robin (and probably Emma) may seem a little OOC. I feel like Robin wasn't really given enough of a character on the show to really know how he would react to things so I've taken a little creative license. And the show hasn't really addressed that Henry is a teen now, so I wanted to explore that a little. I am doing my best to keep them in character while addressing issues that I felt were neglected on the show. Thanks for reading!**_

Regina groaned as the light of the sun forced her out of her exhaustion-induced sleep. Everything hurt. She opened her eyes and found herself on the floor of her foyer. She was definitely too old to be sleeping on the floor. She took a deep breath and stood up. She was going to need a lot of makeup today. She started to go upstairs, but paused on at the foot of the staircase to check her phone. Nothing. She wondered if she should try calling again. But she didn't want to be the needy girlfriend. Regina Mills was an independent woman. She didn't need a man. She didn't need anyone. She started up the stairs.

* * *

Snow hurried to the front door and pulled it open.

"Regina," she said softly. "It's early. Everyone's still sleeping. Has something happened?"

"No. Not that I know of. I just thought we should get started with the planning."

Snow opened the door wider and gestured for Regina to come in. "Right. Planning. Maybe you can fill me in while I get started on breakfast. Everyone crashed pretty immediately when we got home so I haven't really spoken to Emma, or even much to Charming to know what I've missed."

Regina followed Snow into the kitchen. Snow pulled out the coffee and set to work starting a pot. "I thought Robin might be with you?" Snow said.

Regina turned and opened the refrigerator. "What are you making? Do you need the eggs?"

"It's going to be a long day isn't it? Let's make eggs and bacon," Snow suggested not commenting on Regina's avoidance of her question. "So, David says that you were in the portal the longest besides Emma."

Regina looked at Henry who was on the couch with his head buried under a pillow. "Did you let my son stay up all night reading?" Regina asked noting all the open books strewn around the couch. Snow turned to look.

"Oh. I. Um. Yes?"

Regina sighed and walked over to the couch. She carefully picked up and stacked the books on the coffee table. She looked longingly at her son and then returned to Snow. "Did you get any useful information from Emma?"

Snow stopped what she was doing and turned to face Regina.

"She was asking about Hook. When David told her he was still in the underworld she stopped talking. She went immediately to bed when we got home. I'm worried about her, Regina." Snow said, her voice filled with concern.

Regina frowned. Hook. She'd forgotten about that. Well, Zeus sent him back before. Maybe Emma would get lucky again. What was it he'd done? Oh, right. The page in the storybook. About the crystal. The crystal. Regina needed to figure out a way to get the crystal from Hades so they could use it against him before he used it on them. Maybe she could try talking to Zelena again. Oh! Zelena. She'd promised Zelena could see the baby today. Which meant Regina probably shouldn't leave Robin and the children alone for long. If Zelena came to see the baby before Regina arrived, Robin probably would be less than welcoming.

"Regina?" Snow gently touched her shoulder.

"Sorry. I just remembered Zelena is expecting to see her daughter today. I should go. We need to have a meeting soon though. I have some information on how we might be able to defeat Hades, but I don't have a plan. And Emma was in the portal longer than I was. She might have gained some useful knowledge. We need to know what happened to her."

"Meet at Granny's for lunch?" Snow suggested.

Regina nodded. "I'm going to try to bring Zelena. Can you please make sure everyone knows she's not a threat?"

"Are you sure she's not?" Snow asked.

"I need to trust her, Snow. She's our only hope."

Snow nodded and with that reassurance Regina waved her hand and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

* * *

Regina grabbed onto the tree she'd landed near and used it to anchor herself. She felt her stomach flip. That had been a mistake. She should have taken the car. But she was here now. She shut her eyes and composed herself and then headed toward the camp.

Will spotted her first. He was building the fire while Roland stood next to him handing him logs. Will leaned in to Roland and whispered something to him and Roland quickly turned his head.

"Regina!" Roland squealed as he went running to her. Several of the Merry Men turned to look. Regina smiled warmly at Roland, as her eyes scanned the camp for Robin.

Roland ran straight into her and she crouched down to his level.

"Well good morning, my little knight." Regina said as she pulled Roland into a hug. The warmth and relief she felt at the boy's excitement nearly brought tears back to her eyes.

"Were you bad?" Roland asked innocently.

Regina pulled back. "What?"

"Papa was angry last night. I thought maybe you did something bad and got in trouble. Papa gets mad when I'm naughty. But I was good last night." Roland explained.

Regina's shoulders tensed.

"He threw his phone into the woods. Papa said it's bad to throw things because you're mad, but he did it."

"Your Papa's just worried about your little sister. There's a bad man that followed us home from our trip and he wants to take your little sister away." Roland's eyes got wide. Regina hadn't meant to frighten him. "But don't worry, your Papa and I are going to make sure your sister and you stay safe. We won't let anything happen to you."

"So Papa's mad at the bad man and not you?" Roland asked.

"I think your Papa has a lot of things to be mad about right now, but he's not mad at you. He loves you very much. And I love you very much. You're my little knight and nothing can change that, okay?" Regina said.

Roland nodded. "So you can spend the day with me and Papa!"

"It looked like you were busy helping Will. You can't just abandon your friend can you?"

"But I want to play with you." Roland said.

"I can't play right now, Roland. I need you to help Will while I talk to your father. Okay?"

Roland frowned. "No. I want you to play with me. I missed you."

"Roland," Regina started but was interrupted by the boy's cries.

"No! No! No! No! I don't want to help Will! No!"

Robin burst out of his tent in a panic searching frantically for his son. He assumed someone was trying to hurt the boy. Probably Zelena. He ran toward the screams, but stopped in surprise when he saw it was Regina with the boy. He frowned and continued toward them.

"What did you do?" Robin asked accusingly. "Leave him alone."

Regina looked up at Robin with surprise and hurt in her eyes. He thought she was doing something to hurt Roland? What kind of monster did he think she was?

Roland grabbed Regina and wrapped his arms tightly around her. "Don't leave," he pleaded.

Regina stood, lifting Roland in her arms as she did. She placed a soft kiss on the top of his head. "Roland, I won't leave without saying goodbye, but you need to go help Will with the fire. Your father and I need to talk."

She set Roland on the ground.

"I don't want you to go," he said. "Papa wouldn't let us go see you last night."

Robin looked down guiltily. He hadn't realized it had upset Roland so much not to see Regina. He hadn't meant to let his anger hurt his son.

"I promise I won't leave without talking to you," Regina assured.

"Will!" Robin called. Will quickly came over and took Roland's hand leading him back to the camp.

Robin looked at Regina. "What is it that has brought you here so early, Regina?"

"I" She stopped. The hostility and frustration was evident in his voice. If she started with Zelena he'd probably kick her right out of the camp. She hadn't really seen Robin's anger before. They hadn't had a real fight before. She wasn't sure how to handle it. He was normally so calm and patient. She was the emotional one.

"You didn't call me back last night," she said softly. "I was worried."

"So you came to check on me?" Robin asked.

"I just wanted to make sure Zelena or Hades hadn't come after you or the baby," Regina offered.

"Oh, so now you think your sister is a threat."

"No. I," Regina stopped and shut her eyes. She rubbed her forehead. Her head was beginning to ache. Well, the rest of her was sore from sleeping on the floor. Might as well add headache to the mix. She opened her eyes again and looked Robin directly in the eye. "Robin, I don't want to fight. I was…I am worried about you. And about your daughter. I don't think my sister is a threat. I think she's our only hope of defeating Hades, but I'm scared we won't be able to get her on our side. I'm scared of losing you. I" her voice cracked as she stopped. "I love you, Robin. I would never do anything to hurt you or your children. I thought you knew that. I thought you…I thought you…" She turned away. She was going to break down and cry right there. Get it together, Regina she thought to herself. She had to be strong. Everyone was still in danger. She had to come up with a plan to stop Hades. She didn't have time to cry over a stupid man, even if he was her soulmate.

"I do." Robin said, gently turning Regina back toward him. He pulled her into his arms. "I do love you too." Regina buried her head in his shoulder as a little sob escaped her throat. He lifted her head up so he could see her eyes. "If you think Zelena is our only hope, then we'll enlist her help. I trust you."

* * *

"What if she doesn't come alone? What if she brings Hades?" Robin asked as he and Regina stood in the park waiting for Zelena. Robin was walking back and forth in front of the bench gently bouncing his daughter.

Regina smiled softly as she watched. He was so good with her. He was such a good father. She sat down on the bench. She was worn out from last night. Pulling Emma out had been difficult. Honestly, she was in no shape for a magical battle so if Zelena did disappoint her and bring Hades, they'd be in trouble.

"She won't. I asked her to come alone. We're bringing her daughter willingly. She's going to want to keep it that way."

"I'm not giving her my daughter, Regina." Robin said. "She can see her and spend some time with her, but I'm not putting her in Zelena's care."

"Well, I see this is going to be a waste of time. I should have known better than to trust the two of you." Zelena said. "Hand over my daughter or I'll make you."

"Zelena, Robin didn't mean that. He's just worried. We know you won't hurt her daughter. I know you want her to be safe. That's what we all want. Robin, why don't you let Zelena hold her while we talk?" Regina suggested.

Robin looked up at Regina with surprise. Was she serious? Zelena wasn't going to stay and talk if he handed over his daughter.

"Zelena, you're not going to magically disappear with Robin's daughter if he lets you hold her, right?" Regina asked. God, she felt like a mediator. She should have called Archie to come handle this.

Zelena and Robin glared at each other.

Regina stood up and moved toward Robin. She gently placed her hand on his arm. "Please Robin."

"Regina, once I hand her over, I have no way to stop them from disappearing."

"Robin, if she wanted to, she could disappear with your daughter right now. She doesn't need you to hand her over. She has her magic."

Robin's eyes widened and he held his little girl tighter. Picking up on the tension, she began to cry.

"Now, you made her cry!" Zelena huffed and stood up. She refrained from using her magic, but walked straight up to Robin and took the baby from his arms. She began murmuring softly to her daughter. "Are you two going to stand guard over me the entire time I'm with my daughter? I'm not feeling a lot of trust here."

Regina shook her head and then winced as the movement made her dizzy. Robin was too busy watching his daughter in Zelena's arms to notice, but Zelena noticed and frowned. She focused on Regina and was surprised when she realized how weak her sister's magical energy seemed to be.

"Are you alright, Regina?" Zelena asked.

Regina was already moving back to the bench. She glanced back to see Robin and Zelena still glaring at each other. "Maybe it would be better if Zelena and I spoke alone, Robin."

Robin looked at Regina like she had two heads. "I'm not leaving my daughter."

"What's the matter, don't trust the Evil Queen to keep her safe?" Zelena mocked.

"Zelena." Regina said harshly as she sat down. "At least give us a little space, please Robin. I feel like you're a lion waiting to pounce on your prey."

Robin took a few steps back. Regina patted to the spot on the bench beside her. "Zelena."

Zelena sat down. Regina turned to face her and began speaking softly, not really wanting Robin to overhear. "I'm actually not okay," she began. "I need your help, Zelena. I know what I'm going to ask is hard, but I promise I'm telling you the truth."

She began filling her sister in on the portal spell giving her a short recap of what Regina had experienced. Her eyes teared up as she explained Robin had died. "I need to make sure that doesn't happen again, Zelena. I know you think Hades loves you, and he probably does. I think Gold loves Belle, but look where that's gotten them. Belle stuck in a sleeping curse and Gold unable to wake her because she doesn't love him anymore."

"That's not how it is with Hades. He loves me. He wants me to be happy." Zelena argued.

"Does he?" Regina asked. "Is he willing to give up power for you? To run away and have a nice normal life with you?"

"Of course he would." Zelena said.

"Have you asked him?" Regina shot back.

Zelena had asked him and he was convinced that wasn't an option for them. But Zelena wasn't about to admit that to Regina.

"Your stupid hero friends wouldn't let him do that. You want to destroy him."

"No. I don't want to. I know you love him. I don't want to hurt you. But he wants to hurt us. He's not going to let us live, Zelena. He wants to kill me. He will try to kill me if you don't stop him."

Zelena saw the sincerity in Regina's eyes. And the exhaustion. Her sister wouldn't survive a magical battle with her let alone her demi-God boyfriend. And Regina was the first person to truly believe in Zelena in a long time. No one had believed in her since Glinda.

"What exactly is it that you want me to do?" Zelena asked.

"I need to know you're with us before I give you any more information on my plan. I'm already out-magicked I can't give you the little information I have that might give me an edge if you're going to use it against me. You have to choose Zelena. Hades or your family."

Zelena looked at her daughter. She was so precious, so innocent. If Regina was telling the truth, Hades would have no qualms killing her father and her aunt. She looked up at Regina.

"I need some time to think. About what's best for my daughter." Zelena said.

Regina nodded. "Of course. Find me when you've made your decision."

Zelena nodded and thrust her daughter into Regina's arms before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

Regina looked in surprise at the little girl in her arms. Her hands trembled a little as she realized she hadn't really held her niece before. She'd had more interaction with Neal than this little girl who was actually related to her.

Robin bolted over to the bench the second he saw Zelena's green smoke.

"Oh thank God!" He grabbed his daughter from Regina. "Shush. It's okay, princess. Daddy's got you."

Regina looked up in surprise. The baby wasn't in danger. She'd been holding her. Did Robin not trust her with his daughter?

She cleared her throat. "We should get Roland and get to the diner."

"Now do you see why I don't trust her?" Robin asked as Regina stood.

Her patience was wearing thin. "No, Robin. I don't. She didn't do a thing to put your daughter, her daughter in danger. You know what? Maybe you should go get, Roland. I'll meet you at the diner."

She waved her hand and disappeared.


	7. Chapter 7

The instant she had lifted her hand, she'd known it was a mistake. She groaned as she crashed into a parked car as she reappeared in front of Granny's.

"Careful, your majesty," Blue reached her hand out to help Regina.

Regina took Blue's offered hand, but as she straightened, she felt the dizziness hit her full force and she fell into Blue who barely managed to support her weight and keep them standing.

"You shouldn't be pushing yourself. That was some pretty intense magic on the portal last night. You're going to need a little time to recover," Blue said.

"Do I really have time to recover? Hades will be after us soon enough and I'm sure Gold is busy working on his next plan as well," Regina said.

"Well, you can at least stop wasting your energy on frivolous things such as traveling across town," Blue noted.

Regina rolled her eyes. She didn't need a lecture right now.

"Shall we?" Regina gestured to the door.

"I thought you might need a minute," Blue said noting that she was still basically the only thing keeping Regina on her feet.

"Regina!" David called walking over to the women quickly. "Emma and Snow are inside with Henry and Neal. Where's Robin?"

"Picking up Roland."

David nodded. "And Zelena?"

"Weighing her options."

"Are you alright?" He asked Regina, noticing Blue's arm around her waist. He didn't think he'd ever seen Regina allow the fairy that close to her before.

Regina moved out of Blue's grasp, but took a step toward David. "Why don't you earn your nickname and help me inside, Charming?"

He immediately did as she asked, but frowned. Regina never asked for help. He looked at the Blue Fairy and she shared his concerned look.

* * *

Regina stepped out of David's arms right before she opened the door to Granny's and stepped inside unassisted. She had shown her weakness to more people than she cared to already. Her eyes immediately found Henry sitting in a booth with Neal. Neal was sleeping in his carrier and Henry was reading another book. Regina narrowed her eyes. He was up to something. She just wasn't sure what.

"Regina!" Snow hurried over to greet her and quickly lowered her voice. "I'm worried about Emma, she still won't talk to anyone."

Regina turned to Blue. "It's not an effect from pulling her out of the portal is it? That wouldn't have hurt her, right?"

Blue shook her head. "I'm not sure. But it's more likely that whatever happened in the portal was traumatic."

Regina nodded agreeing with the fairy's assessment. "I'll try to talk to her."

Snow glanced around. "Is Zelena..."

"I don't know." Regina walked past Snow and straight to Emma who was sitting alone in a booth mindless spinning a spoon in her hot chocolate.

Regina sat down. "Emma, I know you're upset. But we are all in danger. You need to tell me what happened to you in the portal. If there's any new information you can provide…"

Emma refused to look up at Regina.

Regina reached her hand across the table and pulled Emma's gaze up.

"Swan. Snap out of it."

"Why did you take me back?"

Regina frowned. "Take you back?"

"I was happy."

"What are you talking about?"

"He's gone now," Emma said. "You took me away from him. You really do take away everyone's happiness."

Regina was struggling to figure out what Emma was talking about.

"Are you talking about guyliner? Was he with you in the portal?"

"Of course he was." Emma said.

Regina frowned. That was interesting. And she couldn't quite understand it. Everyone else had experienced the same reality in the portal until their "test." But Hook hadn't been there. At first, Regina amended. He had been returned to earth after they killed Hades. After Robin died.

"Where were you when I pulled you out?"

"Where I wanted to be," Emma answered.

"Emma, I know you're upset about Hook, but I need to know what you know."

"Oh? You know I'm upset? You pulled me out without Hook. I was happy. I don't want to be back here in this mess. You haven't changed at all. You're still selfish and only care about yourself."

Emma stood up and started toward the door, but crashed into Robin who was walking in with his children right then. David caught Emma as she fell back from the impact and guided her back in.

"Emma, calm down. We're going to find a way to get Hook back again," David soothed.

"Yes, by all means, let's just run back down to the underworld and bring him back," Regina said. "300 hundred years really is such a short life."

"Regina!" Snow said.

"What? I'm sick of this poor Emma attitude!" Regina yelled. She spun around to face Emma. "I get it. I'm the Evil Queen. All the bad things should happen to me, not little miss perfect Savior. You are the-"

Regina stopped abruptly. The room was spinning again. She reached her arms out trying to find something to hold onto. She could hear Robin's daughter crying and Roland calling her name in the background. She gripped the table and managed to pull herself back into the booth. She put her head in her hands and tried to block out the noise surrounding her.

Henry took advantage of the commotion and slipped out of the diner. His moms would both be better once he got rid of magic. And without magic, Hades wouldn't be able to hurt anyone. Henry was going to fix this once and for all.

Robin felt his stomach drop as he watched Regina fall into the booth. He shouldn't have been so hard on her. He hadn't even asked how it went getting Emma out of the portal. Clearly not as well as hoped. He looked at the crying baby in his arms and then back to Regina.

Blue was moving toward Regina with a glass of water. Robin knew how much Regina despised the fairy, but maybe she was best equipped to help right now. He pulled his daughter tighter to him and bounced a little.

Roland didn't wait for his father. He ran straight to the booth and climbed up next to Regina as Blue sat down across from her.

Blue took Regina's hand and Regina looked up.

"I'm just a little dizzy. I'm fine," Regina said before Blue could ask.

Roland was tugging at Regina's sleeve trying to get her attention.

Regina turned to him and tears filled her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Roland. I didn't mean to scare you," she smiled. "I think I need a time out. What do you think?"

"It's okay. Papa says sometimes even grown-ups yell when they get mad. You just have to say you're sorry."

Regina grinned.

"Your majesty," Blue began. Regina hated that title. She didn't understand why Blue still insisted on using it. "May I have a word with you privately?"

"Roland, why don't you go ask Granny for a grilled cheese? I'm sure you're starving. And see if she has some yogurt for me. Can you do that for me?" Regina asked.

Roland nodded solemnly.

"Remember to say please when you ask her okay?" Regina reminded gently. Roland nodded again and moved from the booth.

A couple booths down Snow was trying to talk to Emma. But Emma had closed off again.

Regina turned back to Blue and was surprised to see her wand out.

"May I?" Blue asked Regina nodding to the wand. Regina shrugged her shoulders.

"Go ahead."

Blue waved the wand over Regina and shut her eyes in concentration. When she opened her eyes she was very serious.

"Your majesty, you need to get some more rest. You're not well. And you're in no condition to take on Hades if he decides to strike. The town needs you and your magic if we have any chance of defeating him."

"I know. Everyone always needs my magic. That's the only thing I'm good for around here. The only reason I'm still walking around town and not locked up behind bars," Regina said.

Blue took a deep breath. A tired Queen was a testy Queen.

"Do you know what needs to be done?" Blue asked.

"Sort of." Regina answered.

"Alright. Let's meet quickly and then you need to go home and get some rest. I'll put a protection spell up on your mansion to keep you safe while you rest."

Blue stood up just as Robin slid into the booth next to Regina with his daughter in his arms.

"What happened, Regina? Are you alright?" Robin inquired.

"I'm just tired. I'll be fine."

Blue was motioning everyone over to Regina's booth.

"So what's the plan?" David asked.

"I don't have one. I know what we need to do to defeat Hades, but I have no idea how to do it." Regina said. "If the events in the portal were versions of reality, then the answer to defeating Hades is the crystal he has. It is the only thing that will kill him. But he's planning to use it to take over the town. Without Zelena, I'm not sure how to get it away from him. Even with her help I'm not sure he'll leave it unattended."

"What kind of a crystal?" Snow asked.

"It's called the Olympian crystal. It's a sort of a wand."

"He has the Olympian crystal?" Blue's voice shook as she asked.

"If the events in the portal were based in reality," Regina said.

"That is much worse than I thought. In Hades hands, the damage that crystal can do is nearly limitless," Blue said. She turned to Emma. "I know you're upset, Emma, but we're going to need all hands on deck for this fight. I'll gather the fairy's and pull together whatever fairy dust we can. We should think of strategies for getting Hades away from the crystal. None of us will survive if we battle him while he has the crystal. Regina, you sleep. Emma, spend time with Henry, do whatever you need to in order to get focused. Let's meet at Regina's in three hours to devise a plan."

Everyone nodded.

"Maybe we should enlist the other magic users in town," Snow suggested.

"I already asked Gold for help and he's not interested," Regina said. "Zelena is thinking over my offer."

"What about Maleficent?" Snow asked.

"Mal? I hadn't thought of that, but she might agree to help. I'll reach out to her." Regina said.

"Sleep first," Blue said.

Robin frowned at the Blue Fairy's insistence that Regina sleep. He turned to look at her more closely. She was pale and he could see circles under her eyes. She looked thinner too if that was possible. He shifted his daughter into one arm so he could put the other around Regina. She stiffened as she felt his arms, but then gave into the comfort they offered and relaxed against him.

"Come on, Regina. I'll see you home." Robin offered.

Regina looked like she might argue, but in the end she was too tired and just let him help her up. As they walked past Emma, Regina stopped.

"I need to know. Where were you when I pulled you out?" Regina asked Emma again.

"We were in New York. You refused to take the shot, so Hook and I did it for you."

Regina blinked. "What?"

"Regina, you know as long as you've got the Evil Queen in you, you're a danger to everyone. We were just helping you."

"And what happened?" Regina asked.

"Well, you and the Evil Queen split and I crushed her heart. We were about to go back to Storybrooke, but that's when you pulled me out."

Regina frowned. Emma had forced the potion on her? Would anyone ever truly believe that she'd changed? She turned away from Emma and began walking toward the door again.

"Regina?" Robin asked.

"It doesn't matter. It doesn't change anything." And with that she started walking faster to give herself some distance from everyone else. Robin turned back to gather Roland and the food and then grabbing his son's hand hurried after Regina.

* * *

The second Regina stepped outside the diner she realized she hadn't told Henry goodbye. Well, she'd see him in a few hours and he hadn't seemed that interested in speaking with her anyway. She was too tired to go back in there and face Emma again.

"Do you have your car?" Robin asked glancing around.

Regina sighed and shook her head.

"Maybe we should ask David to give us a lift then," Robin suggested.

"I'm perfectly capable of walking, Robin. There's nothing wrong with my legs."

"Mother Superior just seemed very concerned with you getting some rest."

"I don't care what that gnat thinks," Regina said hostilely.

Robin sighed. She was in a mood now. Leave it to Emma.

"Papa, are we going to stay at Regina's big house?"

"For a little while. We're all going to take naps before dinner."

"Will you tell me a story before my nap?" Roland asked tugging on Regina's skirt. "I missed my bedtime story last night."

Regina smiled at Roland. "I missed it too."

Roland held his arms out to Regina. She hesitated a moment, but then scooped him up into her arms. She was exhausted, but she couldn't say no to Roland. And holding him lifted her spirits. He wrapped his arms around her tightly.

"Regina,"

"It's fine, Robin." She assured, but slowed her pace. Robin fell into step beside her and put his arm around her back offering her some support.

* * *

By the time they made it back to Regina's she was ready to collapse. She gratefully let Robin take a sleeping Roland from her arms. He put Roland on her couch. And by the time he turned around she was already on the stairs leaning heavily on the rail as she climbed up the staircase.

He glanced at his sleeping son and the baby he'd placed on the floor surrounded by pillows. He didn't want to leave the children unattended, but Regina definitely looked like she could use some help. He frowned, unsure which action was the right one.

Regina was nearing the top of the stairs and hadn't even looked back. He should stay with the children. She was fine.

* * *

Snow looked around the diner panicked. "David! Where's Henry?"

David frowned. He surveyed the diner as well but saw no trace of Henry or the books he'd been reading.

"Did anyone see Henry leave?" David asked the room. There were murmured "no's" and lots of shaking heads.

"Let's get home. I need a computer," Emma said.

"We should call Regina," Snow said.

"Maybe he went back to the mansion with her," David suggested.

Snow shook her head. "I don't think so. Henry's been giving her the cold shoulder since we got back from the underworld. He was upset about her waiting to get Emma out of the portal."

"She waited?" Emma asked.

"Well, we thought you'd come out on your own like the rest of us did," David explained.

"What was she going to leave me there so she could have Henry to herself?" Emma asked.

"Emma. Of course not. We didn't know what kind of spell it was or the repercussions of breaking it," David explained.

"And don't go saying that in front of Henry," Snow chastised. "He already thinks that. Regina risked her life to get you out and you and Henry are acting like ungrateful children. At least Henry has the excuse of actually being a child."

"Let's just get to a computer so I can find our son before Regina finds out we lost him," Emma suggested.

* * *

Henry paused at the town line. He turned back to Violet. "Are you sure you want to do this? You don't have to come with me if you don't want to."

"I want to come with you Henry. Magic is dangerous. But also because I don't want you to be alone. It's not safe," Violet said.

Henry took her hand and they stepped across the town line.

* * *

Gold frowned. Someone had just left town. Who would leave? He had more power than he'd ever had before and still he was being thwarted. He needed to get that crystal. Maybe he'd take the thief's heart back and send him in after it. Gold wasn't about to try to take it himself. He knew what that thing could do.


	8. Chapter 8

_**A/N: Characters are not mine. Thanks for reading!**_

Regina woke up with a start. Something was wrong. She glanced at the clock. She'd barely slept at all. But there was no way she could go back to sleep without knowing for certain her family was okay. She forced herself out of bed and down the stairs.

"Regina? What are you doing up already?" Robin asked as he spotted her at the bottom of the stairs.

"I have a bad feeling," she said. Her eyes looked over the two sleeping children. They seemed fine. That only left Henry. She reached into her pocket and quickly found her cell phone. She was about to dial Henry's number when she felt Blue's protection spell waiver.

* * *

"He's not answering his phone. And he's not in Storybrooke anymore," Emma said.

"He's not in Storybrooke?" Snow asked.

"In the portal he decided to go to New York to find a way to destroy magic. He must be trying that again," Emma deduced.

"We need to call Regina." Snow said.

"I don't need her help. He's my son. I can find him."

"Emma, I understand that you're upset that Hook is gone, but it's not Regina's fault. And Henry is her son too. You can't just not tell her about this," Snow said.

"It is her fault. In the portal, Robin died and Hook was returned. Now Regina is trying to change things so Robin doesn't have to die, but then I lose Hook," Emma said.

David's eyes widened. That explained why Emma was so angry at Regina.

"Emma, we don't even know for sure that what we saw in the portal was real. And if it was, it was one potential outcome based on our decisions," David said.

"I don't care. He's my son. I'm going to go get him. And I'm not going to suffer through dealing with Regina to do it." She grabbed her keys and walked out the door.

David and Snow looked at each other, unsure what to do.

* * *

Regina frowned. It was Gold. She felt his magic. She shut her eyes and focused on her magic. Frustrated, she sighed. She didn't have the strength the keep the shield up against his attacks. She'd have to take her chances facing the man.

Just as she came to her decision, the door opened and Gold walked in.

"Well, well, I wasn't expecting to find you up and about after pulling our dear Savior out of that portal. I really don't understand why you would waste all that energy when it was her bad decisions keeping her stuck in there to begin with." Gold said as he entered and continued without pausing. "But relax, dearie. I'm not here for you. It's your thief who's assistance I'm in need of."

Regina's eyes followed Gold's. He was going to take Robin's heart. She flung out her arms and threw a protection spell on Robin's heart. Her head throbbed with the effort and another wave of dizziness passed through her.

Gold frowned. "I suppose I should have anticipated you'd expect that move. Your mother did teach you something," Gold stated. "But don't worry, dearie. There's more than one way to get your little thief to do my bidding."

He turned to Robin. "Would you like to cooperate willingly and save us all some time?"

"No!" Regina shouted. "He's not going to get the crystal for you, Gold. If you want the crystal, you die for it." She grabbed Robin's arm and pulled him behind her.

Gold laughed and waved his hand. Regina's body flew up in the air. Her hands went to her throat. She couldn't breathe.

"Regina!" Robin cried.

"All you have to do is come with me and I'll leave the Queen alone," Gold offered Robin.

Regina struggled harder. "No," she choked out.

Robin looked at Regina. He looked at his children. If he went with Gold, he'd die. But Regina and the children would be safe. She'd take care of them for him. If he refused, Gold would kill Regina and then use his children as leverage. So he'd end up dying anyway.

"Stop. Let her down and I'll-"

Regina kicked her legs harder, managing to kick Robin before he finished his sentence. She wasn't going to let him do this. She felt her consciousness fading.

"Ouch!" Robin muttered rubbing his back where Regina's heel had left a mark.

Gold tightened his grip on Regina's throat. Her eyes started to roll back. Hang on, Regina. You can't let him do this. She thought to herself and fought to keep her eyes open. As she managed to force them open again, she caught a glimpse of movement behind Gold.

The Blue Fairy flung pixie dust on Gold freezing him. Relieved, Regina let her eyes shut as her body crashed to the floor.

Robin was on his knees reaching for Regina immediately. He gently lifted her head onto his lap.

Blue was beside him quickly. "We don't have much time. The pixie dust won't hold him long. We need to get out of here."

"Roland!" Robin yelled. The little boy opened his eyes and looked around and started to cry. "Come here Roland. We're going to go on an adventure. You're the Queen's bravest knight, right?"

Roland nodded.

"Okay, well we have an important mission to protect the Queen right now, okay. Come on." He picked up his daughter and put her in Blue's arms before he bent down to scoop up Regina into his own arms.

They hurried outside and once they were out of earshot of Gold, Robin turned to Blue.

"Where can we go? He's the dark one, he'll find us wherever we go."

Blue shook her head. "Regina's vault is protected with blood magic. We'll go there."

* * *

They stood in front of the vault. "Can you wake her?" Blue asked.

Robin gently shook her and called her name. Regina didn't move. Robin felt his stomach turn as he could see the purple marks beginning to form on her neck. He shook his head.

Blue just nodded, shifted the baby in her arms and pulled out her wand. She waved it over Regina and Regina's eyes opened.

Regina coughed and winced in pain. She started to shut her eyes again, but Blue stopped her.

"Regina, you need to get us into your vault. I know you're exhausted, but we don't have much time."

Robin could feel Regina start to shake in his arms. She slowly raised her arm and flicked her wrist and the door to the vault popped open.

Robin leaned down and kissed her forehead as her eyes fluttered shut again. "Good job, love."

He quickly followed the Blue Fairy inside with Roland trailing right behind him. Blue shut the door to the vault and pushed aside the coffin quickly leading them down.

* * *

Snow was pacing. "Regina's not answering her phone."

"Snow. Sit down. She's probably still sleeping. We'll see her when we go over to meet this evening. Stop worrying," David said.

"No, David, she didn't seem well earlier and it's not like her not to answer her phone when Henry's with us."

"Henry isn't with us."

Mary Margaret threw her arms up in exasperation. "She thinks he is."

"Emma's already gone after Henry. We really need Regina here if we're going to stop Hades anyway. Let's just wait and tell her when we see her tonight."

Mary Margaret frowned but set the phone down.

* * *

Zelena was sitting next to Hades as he held his hand over the crystal. Zelena wasn't sure what that thing was or what he was doing with it. Repairing it maybe? Regina had mentioned a crystal wand thing.

"What is that?" Zelena asked.

"This is going to ensure that no one can take away what is ours ever again. I'm going to give you everything that your sister took from you. And get back what my brother kept from me. Storybrooke will be our kingdom now."

"Do we really need a kingdom? Can't we just have a house, you and me, and live a normal life? With my daughter?" Zelena asked.

"You're sister is never going to let that happen," Hades said. "She wants to take away what we have. She'll probably want to lock us up. You know they aren't going to just let us live in peace."

"But maybe if we talked to them. Regina did let me see my daughter today like she promised," Zelena said.

"Do you hear yourself? She let you see your daughter? Why is she deciding if you deserve to see your daughter or not? It's not her child," Hades said.

"I just don't want to fight anymore. I don't want her to get hurt. I just want to be happy with you," Zelena said.

"And we will be. As soon as we take control of this town, no one will ever be able to take away our happiness again," Hades assured.

Zelena frowned as the crystal started to glow blue.

"But we'll take over peacefully, right? No more death?" Zelena asked.

"My love, when did you become so precious over a few lives?" Hades asked.

"It's just that Regina is family, and Robin is the father of my little girl and I don't want them hurt."

"Then you better hope they hide. Because I will not let them destroy this for us," Hades said. "It's almost ready," he grinned looking at the crystal.

Zelena frowned as she looked from the crystal to his gleeful face.

* * *

Henry sighed in frustration. There had to be something here. Something that his father was planning to use to destroy magic. Why couldn't he find it?

"Did your father tell you anything about his research? Or how he was conducting it?" Violet asked.

Henry shook his head. His dad's computer was still there. He didn't think Robin would have figured out how to take anything off of it. Or even use it for that matter. Robin was awful with technology. Well, not as bad as Hook, but still. Regina was from the Enchanted Forest and she'd figured it out. Emma was better, but at least Regina wasn't clueless like the guys were.

He turned on the computer. "Maybe there's something on his computer."

"Good idea!" Violet encouraged. She watched in awe as Henry quickly typed away. He may not know how to sword fight like her father, but Henry was so smart and resourceful.

Henry grinned. "I think I found what my dad was looking for." He pulled out a piece of paper from the desk and scribbled the name down. "I think it's time for a trip to the library."

* * *

Hades picked up the now glowing crystal with a devilish grin.

"Now we can have it all." He pulled Zelena to him and kissed her on the cheek.

"I don't need it all. I just need you and my daughter," Zelena said.

"And we'll have her as soon as we take care of our little hero problem," Hades said.

"What are you going to do?" Zelena asked.

"Whatever I need to in order to ensure we get what we want."

Zelena eyed the crystal. "What does that do?"

"Many things," Hades smiled. "No one can stop us now. Shall we make our presence known?"

Zelena bit her lip. "I don't want Regina hurt. Let me talk to her first. See if she'll turn over my daughter peacefully."

"Zelena, she's never going to let you have your happiness."

Zelena reached up and caressed Hades face. "Please, my love. Let me try it my way first."

Hades frowned. He wasn't going to lose Zelena over her misplaced affection for her sister. But he couldn't allow Regina to live. She was already coming between them. But, he could let Zelena think she was getting her way and then dispose of Regina later. That would be better. Then Regina could dig her own grave by refusing Zelena and Hades would be there to clean up the mess and get Zelena what she wanted.

"You know I can't deny you anything," Hades smiled at Zelena. "Go talk to your sister."

* * *

Mary Margaret and David parked the truck in Regina's driveway.

"What's Gold doing here?" David asked looking at Gold's car on the street.

"And why is Regina's door open?" Mary Margaret asked with trepidation in her voice. She was suddenly very glad that Ruby had offered to watch Neal while they met to discuss plans.

She and David exchanged looks and David pulled out his gun. They started up Regina's walkway.

"Regina?" Mary Margaret called as she approached the open door.

Gold spun around still shaking his hand trying to rid himself of the remaining feel of the pixie dust.

"She's not here." Gold said. David put his hand protectively on Mary Margaret's shoulder. He didn't like the way Gold was looking at them.

"Why are you?" David asked.

"I was hoping the Queen's little pet could be of assistance with a little problem I've run into, but it seems she's not in the mood to share." Gold responded. "But who needs a thief when they have a bandit?" He said stepping toward Snow.

"I don't know what you want, but we're not helping you," Mary Margaret said. "Where is Regina?"

Gold shrugged. "I might be able to find her for a price," he said as his lips twisted into a smile.

"No deals, Gold. Where's Regina?" David asked.

Gold waved his hand and David was frozen in place. "If you want to do this the hard way, that's fine with me." He stepped menacingly toward Mary Margaret. "Are you going to retrieve what I need willingly or do you need some incentive?" Gold asked.

A puff of green smoke filled the room and as it cleared Zelena looked around in confusion. "What's going on?"

This was a problem, Gold thought. Zelena couldn't know his plans. She'd try to stop him for sure. What was she doing here anyway? She was supposed to be with Hades.

"Nothing to concern yourself with, dearie. Mary Margaret and I just have a little business to take care of."

"In my sister's home?" Zelena asked. "What are you up to, imp?"

"I'm only trying to fix the situation you created," Gold glared at her.

"Your maid's father wasn't able to wake her?" Zelena asked.

Gold raised his hand to magically attack Zelena, but she threw back her own spell combating his.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. My love's on the warpath already. It wouldn't be wise to further anger him." Zelena warned. "You should go now."

Gold assessed the situation. While he was confident he could take Zelena, if Hades had completed restoring the Olympian crystal, that was a battle in which Gold didn't like his odds.

"We'll finish our chat later," he warned Mary Margaret as he disappeared from the room.

"Where's Regina?" Zelena asked.

"We don't know. We were supposed to meet here tonight, but when we arrived we only found Gold."

"He alluded to needing Robin for something, but apparently Regina stopped him. He wouldn't tell us where she is though," David explained.

"Rumple was just standing here when you arrived?" Zelena questioned. She frowned. She sensed fairy magic. "Alone?"

"Yes. Alone. Why? Do you think Hades was here?" Mary Margaret asked worried.

Zelena shook her head. "No. Fairies. Fairies were here."

"Blue," David said.

Zelena bent down and swiped her finger across the floor. "Yes. This is definitely pixie dust."

"She must have incapacitated Gold," David suggested.

"And fled?" Mary Margaret asked. "Why would she leave if Gold wasn't able to use his magic?"

She looked at David worried. They came to the conclusion at the same time, but Mary Margaret voiced it. "Because Regina couldn't use hers either."

"None of this explains where my sister and my daughter are," Zelena waved her hand and a map of Storybrooke appeared. She pricked her finger with a hairpin and squeezed a drop of blood onto the map. The blood drew a trail on the map straight to the cemetery.

"Her vault," Mary Margaret said. "Let's go!" She turned toward the door, but Zelena just waved her hand and the three adults disappeared.

* * *

The baby was crying. Roland kept trying to get past his father to Regina. Blue was hovering over Regina who was lying in the bed in the secret room in her vault.

"Roland, stop!" Robin said a bit forcefully.

Roland sat down on the floor at the foot of the bed and began sucking his thumb.

Robin needed all the noise to stop. He couldn't take this anymore. Now he had two crying children.

At the sharpness in Robin's tone, Blue glanced back. She waved her wand and a crib appeared. Robin sighed in relief and put his crying daughter in the crib and quickly moved to Regina's side. He looked up at Blue.

"How is she?"

"She's in no condition to take on Hades, but I think she'll be okay. You should stay here with her and the children until she gets her strength back. I'm going to try a few healing spells, but nothing but rest is going to give her back the energy she'll need for a magical battle," Blue said.

Robin nodded. He looked down at Regina. She was so still and pale. Why hadn't he been more supportive? He should have been helping her instead of fighting her. She had enough battles to fight without him adding to the stress. The baby wailed again. Robin dropped Regina's hand and went back to comfort his daughter. He caught sight of Roland still sucking his thumb at the foot of the bed. He picked up his daughter and began rubbing her back and soothing her. As her cries quieted, he lowered himself to the floor beside Roland.

"Roland, I'm very sorry I yelled at you. You didn't do anything wrong and I shouldn't have yelled at you. Sometimes Papas make mistakes too. Do you think you can forgive me?" Robin asked.

Roland nodded and gave Robin a hug. "I'm scared, Papa. Can we wake Regina up so she can protect us?"

Robin smiled. "Not right now. Regina needs some sleep. She's tired from protecting us earlier."

"When the bad man was there?" Roland asked. Robin nodded. "Why did he hurt Regina?"

Robin hesitated. How could he explain this to his son?

"Roland? I think it might help Regina feel better faster if you gave her a hug. Little boys have magical hugs," Blue interrupted. Roland was easily distracted and immediately jumped up to give Regina a hug. Robin smiled at the sight. But the happy moment didn't last long.

There was a noise in the hall. Robin turned to Blue. Who could be in here? The vault was sealed with blood magic.

"Zelena," they said at the same time.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** **Sorry for the wait. I should be posting regularly again. As always, characters aren't mine. Thanks for reading!**

"I know she has some secret room in here. Henry told me about it," Mary Margaret said.

"Well, how am I supposed to find it? She's here. The map isn't detailed enough to include floor plans for every building in this blasted town," Zelena huffed.

"Maybe if she hears us, she'll come out," Mary Margaret suggested and started calling. "Regina! Regina!"

* * *

"That's the princess," Blue said. "We should let them in."

Robin put out an arm to stop her. "What if it's a trick? Zelena can change forms. Mary Margaret wouldn't have been able to get into the vault."

Regina groaned from the bed. She could feel her sister's magic.

Robin and Blue were too busy arguing over what to do to hear Regina. She rolled her eyes and lifted a shaking hard, subtly flicking her wrist. The door popped open. Mary Margaret raced toward the open door with David and Zelena right behind her.

Blue and Robin looked at each other in surprise and concern. "Did Zelena" Robin started.

"Regina! Thank god! We were so worried when we found Gold at your house and…" Mary Margaret stopped abruptly as she took in the purple bruising on Regina's neck. Regina did not look good. "What happened?" she gasped.

"Just a minor altercation with the Dark One." Regina said. Her voice was so quiet and very scratchy. "Nothing I haven't been through before."

Zelena's eyes were questioning. Did her sister mean the torture by magic or disagreeing with Rumplestiltskin? Or both? She was surprised to discover she was genuinely worried about her sister. She moved to the bed and took Regina's hand. "Well, at least he didn't send you through a clock tower this time," Zelena smirked.

Regina's lip quirked up in a small smile.

"Who did Gold want you to steal from?" David asked Robin.

"Hades," Zelena answered. "He wants the crystal thing. He called trying to make a deal earlier."

Blue frowned. "Why are you here?"

"I needed to find my daughter," Zelena said. "Since my sister disappeared with her."

"Well, now that you've found them, maybe you should go."

Zelena did not like the tone the fairy was taking. She started to stand up but Regina lightly squeezed her hand. "Did you make your choice, Zelena?" Regina asked searching her sister's eyes.

Zelena met her gaze. She just wasn't sure. She wanted to be with Hades and her baby. She wanted to believe him that they could be happy. But Hades would kill Regina. And if she hadn't been sure before, now she knew she didn't want her sister to die.

"I'll help you," Zelena said.

Regina felt relief flood her body. They had a chance now. "Thank you." Regina glanced around the room. "Where are Emma and Henry? We need to start planning." She turned back to Zelena. "I don't think we should let Hades know that you've changed sides, but that means we're going to need to act fast before he gets suspicious."

"You are in no condition to be making any plans. Stay here. Hide out for a few days and recover. I'll go back and pretend I couldn't find you," Zelena said. "And if an opportunity to take the crystal presents itself, I'll take it."

"The crystal is very dangerous. We can't let it get into the wrong hands. Hades is not going to willingly let go of it. I think it would be better if Emma was the one to take the crystal. It's a lot of power." Blue said.

Zelena narrowed her eyes at the fairy. "Are you saying that mine would be the wrong hands?"

"I trust Zelena," Regina stated. "But don't take unnecessary risks. It would be better to do it when you have back up. Between Emma, you and me I think we'll have enough firepower even the playing field a little."

David and Mary Margaret looked at each other. "Emma's not here," Mary Margaret blurted out.

"What?" Regina started to sit up, but immediately regretted it. Robin narrowed his eyes at her.

"Henry left town and Emma went after him." David explained.

"Henry left?" Regina forced out.

"Emma thought he was on a mission to destroy magic."

Regina nodded numbly. "Of course. I should have realized." She shut her eyes. "Well, at least Emma should know where to find him."

Robin frowned any bit of energy Regina had been holding onto disappeared with the news of Henry.

"I think that's enough. Mary Margaret, you'll let us know as soon as you hear from Emma. Zelena, you should go back to Hades before he suspects anything. I think it's safest for the rest of us to stay here, but we're moving out of this room. Regina is going to sleep." He stood and began enforcing his commands.

"I'll have Ruby bring Neal," Mary Margaret as she took Robin's daughter. "You stay with Regina." Robin nodded and watched as the others left and then moved to sit next to Regina on the bed. He ran his hand across her forehead smoothing her hair.

"Thank you, Regina."

She frowned in confusion.

"For protecting my heart from Gold, but more importantly for being so patient with me. I'm sorry I-"

There was a crash outside the room. Regina tried to sit up, but everything felt so heavy. Robin didn't have the same problem. He jumped up immediately and went to see what happened. Regina fought her heavy eyelids to stay conscious while she waited.

Mary Margaret stepped back inside. "It's alright, Regina. Roland just knocked something over and got scared. Robin's calming him down."

Regina gave a small nod.

"Get some sleep. I promise we'll wake you if there are any new developments."

Unable to fight it anymore, Regina did just that.

* * *

The small library room with the old books and artifacts and was eerily silent.

"What are we looking for, Henry?" Violet asked.

"It just looks like a cup. Kind of like that grail thing in Camelot."

"Oh, like the cup that was used to create the dagger."

"Exactly. I think my dad thought they were a pair. Like one creates magic, one destroys it," Henry explained.

They walked along the wall looking at the various display cases.

"Are you sure it's here?" Violet asked.

"No, but my dad's search history seems to indicate it is."

Violet grinned and nodded to a glass case.

Henry's eyes lit up. "Do you have a hair pin?"

Violet gave him a funny look, but pulled out a bobby pin and handed it to Henry who made quick work of picking the lock.

"My parents have a colorful past and my mom's dating Robin Hood. I know how to pick a lock," Henry said in response to Violet's unspoken question.

He pulled the cup out and inspected it. "How do you think we make it work?"

Violet shrugged. "I don't know much about magic."

They heard the door turning. Henry shoved the cup in his backpack. He slung it back on his back just as Emma walked in.

"Well, maybe Regina was right about those portal visions," Emma said. "Come on, kid. We're going back to Storybrooke. You are in major trouble."

* * *

Gold was running out of options. He needed that blasted crystal if he was going to take Storybrooke's magic and wake Belle. Maybe he didn't need one of the heroes. Sure they would be more likely to succeed, but really any body would do. He held Pandora's box close to him. He wanted Belle back. He missed her. And he didn't like not being in control. There were too many variables at play. Not to mention the Savior and her son had been absent when he encountered the heroes earlier and he hadn't seen a trace of them. Maybe it was time to gather some additional intel. That could be accomplished with relatively little effort. He grinned.

* * *

Blue had called a meeting of the fairies. "We need all the fairy dust we have. It's important. If we can't wait for Regina to regain her strength, we're going to need all the help with can get."

"Do you think this is a good idea? It seems very risky using Regina at all. Hades has a personal vendetta against her," Tink asked.

"That's why she'll be the ideal person to distract him. The prince thinks that we should allow Zelena to be the one to take the crystal, but we can't let anyone with dark magic get a hold of the crystal. I plan to convince them to let me take the wand, but I don't trust Zelena so we'll need the fairy dust to use against Hades and Zelena should it become necessary. If we're lucky, Gold will stay out of things, but I don't think we'll be that lucky. Now, if there are no further questions, go gather whatever dust you can!"

* * *

Regina woke up a few hours later alone. She was hungry. She actually couldn't remember the last time she ate. She stood up and immediately half fell back into a sitting position on the bed. Too fast, Regina, she thought to herself. Slowly she stood again and moved to the door. She was surprised to see the group sitting lining the hallway.

"Regina! You're awake." Mary Margaret said.

"Actually, I have a terrible tendency to sleepwalk. I'm really asleep," Regina said sarcastically.

"Emma found Henry and they're all on their way back," Mary Margaret continued as if Regina hadn't spoken.

"All?" Regina asked deciding not to dwell on the fact that Mary Margaret hadn't woken her with the news even though she'd promised to do so.

"Violet was with him," David explained.

"Oh, that's right. I'd forgotten that."

Robin frowned. "Forgotten? Mary Margaret just told you."

"I was in the portal longer than you. A lot happened after you…after you got out," Regina said.

"Well, at any rate, Emma and Henry will be back soon, so we should be ready to go. I'll call Blue back. We came up with part of a plan while you were sleeping, but of course we'll want you to weigh in. We'll need to get Zelena back here too."

"I can't just summon her here. Hades can't know that she's on our side," Regina said.

"We'll call her back after Emma gets here. Use the baby as an excuse," Robin suggested.

"Alright. We should get some food in the meantime. Would someone like to see if Granny will send Ruby with a delivery?" Regina asked.

* * *

"Where did you go?" Hades asked.

"To talk to my sister about getting my daughter back like I said I was going to."

"Then where's the baby?" Hades asked.

"Rumple got in my way. He'd scared Regina and Robin off. Now they're in hiding somewhere," Zelena explained.

Hades frowned this was not what he wanted to hear. How was he going to get rid of them if they didn't know where they were?

"Well, she's your sister. Do you have anything of hers we can use to locate her?"

Zelena frowned. "I still think it would be better if I talked to her alone and try to reason with her. Maybe she'll just hand my daughter over."

"Zelena, don't be ridiculous. Go find something of hers and we'll go get that baby back."

"I'm sure anything in this room would work. Maybe her photo of Henry?" Zelena suggested. She was hoping the fact that Regina and Henry were in different places would mess with the spell. She needed a little time to warn her sister.

Hades picked up the photo and waved his hand over it. It began to glow blue and start moving.

"Let's go get our happy ending," Hades grinned.

Gold stood just out of sight and watched Zelena and Hades leave and quickly followed them. He could get what he wanted while staying out of the battle.

* * *

Blue and the fairies arrived moments after Granny and they set to work discussing the plan. Regina would go to talk to Hades and Zelena and while she distracted him Emma would be in charge of getting the crystal.

"You want to use Regina as bait?" Robin asked.

"It's our best option. Someone has to distract him and he hates her so he'll be completely focused on her. The only challenge will be getting him to leave the crystal unattended," Blue said.

"He won't. He won't leave it unattended. We're going to have to physically take it from him," Regina said. "I'll make sure he's separated from the crystal, someone just be ready to get it. And I'm not sure it should be Emma. Maybe we should see if Mal will help."

"Emma can do this fine. And we all trust her with the crystal," Blue said.

Regina tensed but didn't say anything. She heard Blue's underlying message. She and Zelena weren't to be trusted with the crystal.

"We can trust Zelena and she'll be able to do what needs to be done. She has before. Can you say the same about Emma?"

"Emma will take care of the threat," David defended his daughter.

Regina met his eyes for a minute as she debated arguing the point, but she didn't have energy to waste on pointless arguments. The heroes would make the decisions; they always did no matter how foolhardy those decisions were.

* * *

Emma's bug was barely going the speed limit. She was in no mood to rush back to Storybrooke with all its crazy villains and painful memories.

"We should have gone back to New York like I wanted," Emma said.

"Mom. It's going to be fine. I said I'm sorry I left without telling anyone, but I can fix everything," Henry said.

"Really? You have a magic weapon in there to destroy Hades?" Emma asked.

"Better."

Emma's phone began ringing. She picked it up. "Hello Mary Margaret. What? No. We're still a couple hours away. Yeah, I'll hurry." She hung up.

"What's wrong?" Henry asked.

"Hades has some crystal thing and he's coming after them. And with us gone there's no one with magic to hold on to the crystal but the evil sisters."

"Zelena's an option? She's dating Hades!" Henry exclaimed.

"I thought the Queen was good now," Violet said.

Emma rolled her eyes. "For now," she said.

"Can you drive faster? We need to get back," Henry said.

"I'm going as fast as I can. It's not my fault that we aren't there. You're the one that ran off during a town crisis," She flipped on the radio.

From the backseat, Violet gently reached forward and squeezed Henry's shoulder in encouragement.

* * *

Zelena secretly smiled as the photo floated toward the town line. At least she'd bought her sister some time. If only she could find a way to warn her.

"She wouldn't have left Storybrooke. Why are we here?" Hades frowned. He snatched up the photo which had fallen limply on the town line. He waved his hand and a small stickpin appeared in his hand. "Give me your hand," he gestured to Zelena. She offered her hand and he pricked her finger with the stickpin and squeezed a drop of blood onto the photo. He waved his hand over it again and it floated back up and drifted toward the forest.

Zelena quickly followed Hades after the photo. So much for a warning.

* * *

Gold knew exactly where Regina was. He hadn't followed Hades and Zelena when the photo had veered off the wrong direction. He briefly wondered whose side Zelena was on, but dismissed the thought quickly. Of course she would stand by the Hades. Zelena wasn't tempted by the light or frightened by the dark as Belle was. She wouldn't abandon her love. He parked his car a distance away and transported himself to Regina's vault where he settled in behind a tree to wait for what he needed.

* * *

The photo stopped at the door to Regina's vault.

"Hiding in a crypt? How macabre of your sister," Hades said and waved his hand over the door to open it.

He was thrown back. He stood up looking surprised. "Didn't think your sister was smart enough to use blood magic. Though it's still not enough," he gestured to the door. "After you my love."

Zelena stepped forward and waved her hand.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Thanks for reading! Errors are mine. Characters are not.**

Regina felt the Zelena's magic instantly. "Zelena's back," she told the others.

"Alone?" Robin asked.

"I don't know," Regina answered.

"But Emma's not back. We can't put our plan in motion yet."

"Regina, dear, you might as well bring me my daughter. We're going to find you," Zelena's voice echoed through the hall.

Regina turned. "I think that answers our question. We're going to have to go ahead without Emma."

David and Snow glanced at each. "Regina's right. We're out of time. Summon the fairies. And everyone get ready," David said.

"I'll take the baby outside to draw them back into the open," Regina said. "You heroes figure out who's grabbing the crystal once we get it away from Hades."

She looked at Robin for permission before she picked up his daughter. He nodded slightly. There wasn't much choice, was there?

"Please take care of her," he begged.

"I promise no harm will come to her," Regina said and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

* * *

From Gold's hiding place he saw Regina and the baby appear outside the vault. She glanced around and seeing no one stepped back toward her vault.

"Zelena! I've done as you asked. I've brought you your daughter," Regina called toward the vault. "But if you're not interested, I'll just take her back to Robin and the Merry Men."

Hades and Zelena quickly emerged from the vault.

"I don't think you'll be going anywhere, Regina. You need to stop taking things that don't belong to you," Hades said. "But don't worry. I'll make sure you won't be taking anything else."

Zelena looked at Regina trying to find some indication of what the plan was.

"Well, go on, Zelena. Take your daughter. The Evil Queen is quite harmless in my kingdom," Hades said. "And make no mistake, Regina. This is my kingdom now."

Zelena moved toward Regina slowly. Regina glanced at the crystal in Hades hands.

"Find yourself a new toy?" she asked.

Hades' lips curled into a sinister smile. "Oh it's going to be fun for me, but not so much for you."

Regina hugged Robin's daughter to her before she released her grip and handed the little girl to Zelena. "Don't put her in danger for me," Regina hissed as she let go of the baby.

"So what now?" Regina asked Hades. "What's your grand plan? You have Zelena's daughter. Are you going to kill me now? With that little toy of yours?"

She took a step toward him. "Do you think Zelena will forgive you if you murder her sister? Her daughter's aunt? Right in front of her?"

"Darling, we can just leave now," Zelena suggested. "We have what we want."

"I don't think so, love. She'll never leave us alone. She'll be constantly trying to destroy our love. And keep us from the things we deserve," Hades said.

Regina took another step forward. She was focusing on the magic surrounding her. It was hard to sense anything other than the strong magic the crystal was vibrating with, but she was vaguely aware of the presence of fairies. She hoped they were ready.

"And what is it that you think you deserve? Besides my niece?" Regina asked.

"Everything. Everything you took away from Zelena. Everything my brother took away from me," Hades said.

"Didn't your mother ever teach you, you can't have everything? That's not the way the world works." Regina said as she took another step forward. The closer she got the more overwhelming the crystal's power became. Regina braced herself. She would not show Hades how much that crystal's power terrified her. It was unlike any magic she'd felt before.

"Oh Regina, you can't have everything. But I can. I have Zelena and I'll have my power too. And there's nothing you can do to stop me. In a few minutes you won't even exist."

Regina frowned, pretending to be confused. "I won't exist? Because you're going to murder me?" She turned back to her sister. "Zelena, is that what you want? Power instead of a sister?"

"Hades, really, I don't think you have to kill her. She got the message. She'll stay out of your way."

"She needs to be punished. And I'm not going to kill her. I'm going to end her. It will be as though she never existed. No underworld. No hell. No moving on to a better place. Really, with as much as she has to atone for, she should really thank me," He reached for the crystal.

"Hades, I don't think that's necessary," Zelena argued.

"Of course it is. It's what you always wanted," Hades turned away from Regina to face Zelena. "And I'm giving it to you. No sister to take what's yours."

"Now!" Regina shouted as she shoved all her weight into Hades, knocking him to the ground and the crystal out of his hand. The fairies appeared from the trees all around and David ran for the crystal as the fairies covered him.

Hades threw Regina into a tree with his magic. Her head hit hard and she felt a wave of dizziness wash over her, but through her blurred vision she saw Hades attempting to overtake David in his run to the crystal. She threw a fireball at Hades causing him to deviate from his course and Blue and a couple other fairies threw fairy dust at him, freezing him on the spot. But unlike Gold and Regina, Hades seemed able to fight against the fairy magic.

Regina could see him breaking free almost immediately. She knew they had seconds before he managed to completely free himself. She saw Robin and Snow loading their bows. The fairies were preparing another attack. Zelena stood with the baby, looking anxious.

David had too far to go. He wasn't going to make it before Hades freed himself. She waved her hand and the crystal disappeared from the ground. David stopped suddenly.

"No!" Blue yelled as the crystal appeared in Regina's hand. Hades broke free and looked at Regina his eyes filled with hatred. He was walking toward her with a vengeance.

"See? I told you, she'd never stop!" He yelled at Zelena. "Now do you see why I have to kill her?"

"I don't think you'll be the one doing the killing." Regina raised the crystal and pointed it toward Hades, but he didn't stop his forward movement toward her. He didn't think she knew how to use it. Her hand began to shake. She didn't want to do this. She didn't want to be the one to destroy her sister's happiness. She choked back a sob.

Hades was almost upon her. He staggered suddenly. Regina was surprised to find an arrow in his shoulder. She glanced behind him and saw Robin reloading his bow.

She blinked and steadied her hand. She didn't have a choice. He wasn't going to give up.

Hades was almost in reach. He had removed the arrow with his magic and didn't even appear phased by it. "You stupid girl. You should have listened to your mother and come back when you had the chance. Now you're going to pay for your stupid decisions."

He extended his arm and Regina felt the invisible hands squeezing off her air supply. Did everyone have to use the same magic tricks? Wasn't being strangled once enough for the day. Fighting against the hold, she was able to move her arms forward just as Hades reached her and went to grab for the crystal. She plunged it into him before he realized what she was doing. Surprise that she'd known how to kill him filled his eyes before the fear set in when he realized he was defeated.

Zelena let out a pained cry and Snow gasped as Hades began to crumble into dust. Regina felt the magical hold on her throat disappear and she dropped to the ground unceremoniously.

Regina was vaguely aware of her sister's sobs. Her throat hurt. She tried to breathe in slow even breaths. She needed to stay conscious. They needed to find any remnants of the crystal in the dust before Gold did.

"Regina?" Snow was kneeling down beside her. "Are you okay? Blue!"

"Ge..a..ristal…articles…" Regina rasped out. She reached her hand to her throat. Ugh. That hurt.

Snow frowned. "Shush. It's okay. Don't try to talk right now."

Regina shook her head. Out of the corner of her eye she saw something move in the trees.

She struggled in Mary Margaret's arms and Mary Margaret loosed her grip.

Robin had taken his daughter from Zelena who was on the ground sobbing and shaking. He was watching Regina, but gently patting Zelena's shoulder to calm her. He looked at Zelena. He was sorry for her pain, but he needed to be with Regina. He stepped forward. Regina was on her knees reaching for the dust.

As she started sifting through it, Gold emerged from the shadows.

"I don't think so, dearie," he said as he threw a spell at Regina. She raised her arm just in time to lift a shield for herself and Snow, but she knew she couldn't hold it long. Her hand was shaking and Gold was throwing spells at the shield in rapid fire.

Robin stepped back again. He shielded his daughter with his arms. Ruby and Granny had better be keeping Roland downstairs he thought to himself. He saw how Regina's hands were shaking. One was still raised holding the shielding spell and the other was sifting through the dust. What in the world was she doing digging around in Hades ashes? That was super creepy even for a former Evil Queen.

"Blue, Zelena! Someone do some-" David started but stopped abruptly when Gold threw a silencing spell at him.

"Stay out of this, Shepard." He spun around and caught the dust the Blue Fairy was throwing at him.

Robin took a step back toward Zelena. "Zelena. I know you're upset but you have to help Regina. She's not strong enough to fight Gold right now."

Zelena looked up at Robin blankly for a minute and then turned to Regina as Gold threw another spell at her before whipping around to catch more incoming fairy dust. He waved his hand and several of the fairies went flying into the trees. Zelena blinked as the situation registered. She raised her hand and threw a protection spell at her sister followed immediately by an attack on Gold.

Gold spun and faced her just in time to block the magic she'd sent to toss him into the trees. "So you did switch sides. I thought that little location spell malfunction might have been your handiwork. No matter. You're no more of a threat than your pathetic little sister. Stay out of this or I'll take that precious child of yours," Gold threatened.

Regina was frantically sifting through the dust. She'd removed the chunk of crystal she'd found and had sent it away while Gold had been distracted, but she needed to be sure there weren't any remaining pieces. The portal reality hadn't shown her how many pieces the crystal had broken into. Or if that information had been there, she'd been too distracted with a dead Robin to notice.

Snow seemed to have realized what Regina was looking for and was now sifting through the dust as well.

"I think that was it." Snow said.

"…hope." Regina managed to get out before she felt her shield shatter against the force of Gold's new attack.

Gold advanced and stood over Regina. "Not so powerful anymore are you, dearie?" He knelt down and began moving his hands through the dust looking for pieces. When he found none, he threw Regina into a tree and held her there with his hands tightly gripping her shoulders. "Where is it? There's always a piece left. What did you do with it?"

Regina blinked defiantly and remained silent. Gold wasn't going to get anything out of her.

"I will start killing everyone here, one by one while you watch and know that it's your fault." Gold threatened.

Regina remained silent, but her eyes quickly surveyed the area. Gold didn't make idle threats. He'd do it. She wasn't strong enough to get them all away. She looked at Zelena, but she was clutching her daughter in fear, the fairies were scattered and none of them seemed strong enough to mount any sort of evacuation. She shut her eyes and nodded slowly.

As she nodded the sun disappeared and the forest was suddenly dark. She heard a loud fluttering and looked up.

Maleficent.

Mal had come through after all. She met the dragon's eyes. She was in the line of fire. Mal couldn't attack Gold without attacking her. She nodded. Gold saw the fire coming at him and let go of Regina to defend himself. Regina rolled away from Gold and the tree.

Her eyes shut and she finally succumbed to unconsciousness as the pain of the fire spread up her leg.

Maleficent swooped down and plucked up Gold and carried him off.

Snow rushed to Regina. "David! We need to get her to a doctor."

"We need to know what she did with that crystal the second she wakes up. It's too dangerous for her to keep it," Blue warned.

"Shut up," Robin said. "She just saved all of us. Show her some respect instead of this constant mistrust!"

Robin ran toward Regina. He and David gingerly lifted her up.

"We don't have any of those moving carriages here do we?" Robin asked.

He pulled Regina fully into his arms, cradling her unconscious form. David shook his head.

"We'll have to walk back to town. We can take turns carrying her so you don't need to stop and rest," David suggested.

Robin nodded.

"Zelena, can't you just send them to the hospital?" Snow asked.

Zelena looked up from her daughter. She seemed to be a little in shock. "Oh. Right." She waved her hand and Regina, Robin, and David disappeared.

* * *

Emma slowed her car as they approached the town line. She hated this. Hated how the strong wave of magic would rush through her when she crossed. It was overwhelming.

"Mom. Hurry up!" Henry said.

She took a deep breath and drove across. She frowned. Something was different. The wave of magic hadn't hit her. She felt the same.

"What's wrong?" Violet asked from the back. Emma realized she'd stepped on the brake.

"Oh. Um. Nothing," she shook her head and turned to Henry. "Call your grandma. She didn't say where to meet them. And then call Regina. No. Scratch that. You better call Regina first. I don't need her coming after me."

Henry picked up his phone and dialed. "Hey grandma! We're back. Where should we meet you?"

Emma narrowed her eyes at Henry. He never listened to her. Maybe she shouldn't have been quite so hard on Regina when Henry kept running away. It probably wasn't really her fault.

"No. We'll come to you. Do you need help at the vault or should we go straight to the loft?" Henry was asking. "Okay. I'll tell mom." He ended the call and turned to Emma. "We're too late. They already defeated Hades."

"Well that's good, right?" Violet asked.

Henry shrugged. "Some of the fairies got hurt, but grandma thinks everyone is going to be okay. Grandpa went with Robin and Regina to the hospital, but everyone else is still at the vault. Grandma said they were about to leave though, so we should just meet them at the apartment."

"Your mom is at the hospital? Is someone hurt?" Violet asked.

"She's fine. I think she just got into it with Gold."

"Don't you want to go to the hospital?" Violet asked.

"Not really. She wasn't worried about Emma. Why should I worry about her?"

Emma frowned. She was getting a little sick of the attitude. She was pissed at Regina, but Regina had risked her life for Emma because Henry wanted it. She always put Henry first and this attitude had gone on long enough. She stopped the car.

She turned to Henry. "Get out."

"What?"

"Get out of the car. Violet, we'll be just a minute." She flung open her car door and walked around the car to Henry.

Henry hesitated, but opened the door and got out. Emma shut the door behind him.

"Listen to me. I've had it with your attitude and I've had it with your defiance. You can't just run off to New York without telling anyone. You are grounded and we'll discuss the rest of your punishment after I've talked to your mother."

"You're my mother."

"And so is Regina. I don't know where this anger toward her is coming from but she doesn't deserve it from you. I'm angry at Regina, but that has nothing to do with you. She risked her life to get me out of that portal because she knew how important it was to you. She always puts you first. I know she lied to you about the curse, but we're past that. You can't hold it over her head whenever you don't like something. This behavior is not okay. Regina raised you better than this. Your mother is in the hospital, so we're going to the hospital. And you are going to lose the attitude," Emma softened her voice. "I know you, Henry. If anything happens to Regina you're going to spend the rest of your life regretting how you've behaved. Now get in the car and think about how you're going to apologize for your immature behavior."

Emma turned away from Henry and got back in the car. Henry crossed his arms and sulked as he sat back in his seat.

Emma knew he was scared. She knew he was worried about Regina. Maybe she should have tried reasoning with him. Letting him know she understood he was scared. Regina would have known the right approach. Screw Regina. Why did Regina always have to make her feel inferior? Grr. She pressed on the gas pedal.


	11. Chapter 11

Robin was sitting, but he wasn't still. He kept tapping his fingers anxiously on the chair and bouncing his leg.

"Robin, she's going to be okay. Whale said he just wanted to check her out, but it didn't look like she had any serious injuries," David reassured.

"He's going to come back for her."

"Who?" David asked.

"The Dark One. Rumplestiltskin. She's still the only one who can give him what he wants," Robin said.

David nodded. "Yes, but we've got a little more time now. We can hide the children and then Zelena will be able to help. And Emma will be back soon. It will be okay."

Robin nodded, but didn't stop fidgeting.

"What else?" David asked.

"I…I haven't been there for her. I'm supposed to be her soul mate. I'm supposed to make her life better, but instead I'm making it harder. I'm making her miserable because of my daughter and I blame her for putting my daughter at risk. I told her I didn't, but I do. I'm so angry with her. But I still love her. So much it hurts," Robin said.

"She knows you love her," David said.

"Does she? It's Regina. She thinks she's unlovable and I haven't really been showing her how wrong she is."

David opened his mouth to say something, but Whale approached.

"She's going to be fine. She's sleeping, but you can go in with her if you want. Mostly she just needs rest. She's a bit banged up, but nothing's broken. She should try not to talk too much. There's a lot of bruising on her neck and swelling in her throat. But nothing that time won't heal. Or magic when she gets a little stronger," Whale said.

"Thanks, Victor." David said. "Come on, let's go check on her. I need to get back to Mary Margaret soon."

* * *

Gold was furious. That stupid dragon. Did she think dropping him in the ocean was going to stop him? He was the Dark One. He has more power than any of them. Once he's finished dealing with his Evil Queen problem he'll make the dragon pay as well.

He waved his hand and dry clothes appeared. Much better. Now, he had to hurry. Visiting hours would soon be over at the hospital. Not that that would stop him.

* * *

Zelena looked around Mary Margaret's loft. She was surprised Mary Margaret had insisted she come here.

"Relax, Zelena. I'm not plotting an attack. Sit down. Make yourself comfortable. I'm making you some tea."

Zelena sat down. "Maybe I should go check on Regina?" Zelena said.

"David just called. He said she's fine. She's just sleeping. He's going to head home soon. Robin will stay with her. You take care of your daughter. We need to come up with some place safe to send the kids so when Gold comes back he can't use them against us."

Zelena nodded. Mary Margaret was right. Gold would be back. That imp didn't give up. She gently brushed her hand through her daughter's fine hair. They really needed to name her. Maybe she should try to talk to Robin about it. And maybe work out some sort of custody sharing. Regina had seemed open to the idea. She frowned. But Robin hadn't. Robin didn't want her anywhere near her daughter. He didn't really seem to want Regina near her either. Zelena had hardly seen Regina hold the baby at all. She frowned.

Mary Margaret handed her the cup of tea. "Are you okay?" She asked softly.

Zelena laughed. Was she okay? Her sister just killed her lover. Destroyed her chance for love. That didn't really seem okay. Oddly, though, Zelena didn't feel anger toward Regina. Regina had been right. Zelena wasn't enough for Hades. He wanted power too. And he didn't care how she felt about her sister; he was determined to kill her.

"As okay as I can be under the circumstances. I can place some protection spells on the kids and the apartment," Zelena paused. "If you trust me."

Mary Margaret nodded. "I think you've earned my trust. You helped us today. And you lost your true love to keep us safe. Thank you."

Zelena nodded and took a sip of her tea.

* * *

Emma parked right in front of the hospital. She headed straight inside not waiting to see if Henry was following. Almost immediately upon entering Emma saw David.

"I'm so glad you're here!" He pulled Emma into a hug. "I'll take you to Regina's room," he offered as he released her.

Emma followed David right into Regina's room, but Henry stopped outside the door. From the doorway he saw his mother in the bed. She had an IV in her hand and a heart monitor was beeping. Her hospital gown didn't hide the dark purple bruises on her neck. Henry blinked. She looked bad.

Violet took his hand and walked with him into the room. "It's okay," she whispered.

It was as if Regina subconsciously sensed his presence. Her eyes opened the second he took a step into the room.

"Henry!" She breathed out, but it was hoarse and raspy and didn't sound like his mom at all.

He took another step toward the bed.

"Regina, the Whale said to rest your voice," Robin warned.

"Rew Ale"

Robin laughed and put a finger on her lips. "Shush, love. There are children in the room."

Regina smiled back. Robin was here with her. And no baby. He'd chosen her. And her son was back.

Emma nudged Henry and cleared her throat.

Henry looked down at the floor. "I'm sorry I ran away."

"And?" Emma said.

Regina's eyes focused on Emma. Was Emma making her son apologize to her?

"I'm sorry about how I treated you," Henry mumbled.

"You don't have to-" Regina started but was interrupted by a coughing fit. "You don't have to apologize." She finished and reached her arm out to beckon Henry over.

As Henry stepped closer to the bed, Regina felt her chest tighten. Something was wrong. She couldn't quite describe the feeling, but it was a pulling sensation. Everywhere. He was almost at the bed. Her heart rate increased. The monitor began beeping alerts. It felt like something was being sucked out of her. It felt like when the darkness had latched onto her and started pulling out all the light.

"Regina?" Robin said.

Her eyes widened in realization. It was her magic. But it wasn't like when the cuff had suppressed it; it felt like it was being forcibly removed. She couldn't breath. She grabbed Robin's hand. She was scared. Was Gold here? Had he found the crystal? She tightened her grip on his hand.

Whale rushed in and pushed Henry back to get to Regina. "What's going on? Someone get me an oxygen mask!" He shouted. A nurse rushed in with the oxygen tank and mask and quickly strapped it on Regina's face.

Henry had backed away and was now standing by the door with Emma, David, and Violet.

Regina slowly felt the odd sensation disappearing. She could barely feel her magic, but it was there. She could breathe again. But now she was so tired.

Whale stepped back as she stabilized.

"What happened?" David asked.

"I have no idea," Whale said. "But let's leave the oxygen mask on. And absolutely no talking, Regina. Maybe the swelling in your throat is making breathing more difficult."

"Thank you, doctor," Gold said as he pushed past Henry into the room. "She's not much use to me dead."

He stalked toward Regina.

"You heard him, Gold. No talking. She can't help you now," David said.

"I think you should leave," Emma suggested. She began focusing on her magic but was surprised to find she could barely feel it.

"No. I think I'll stay until I have what I came for," Gold responded and leaned over Regina.

"Where is it?"

Regina shook her head. She saw the fury in Gold's eyes. She was scared. But she couldn't give it to him. He couldn't be trusted. She knew what had happened in the portal. She had to prevent that.

"We'll…find…another…way," she panted "bring…Belle…back…promise."

"I don't think so, dearie. Since you're clearly able to speak, would you like to pick who dies first? Your precious son or your soulmate?" He spat the words at her with disdain.

Regina shut her eyes and shook her head again. Tears pooled in her eyes, but she tried to hold them back. She wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of seeing her cry.

"In the interest of keeping the death count to a minimum, I'll pick for you." He backed away from Regina. "Everyone knows you'll do anything for your precious Henry." Gold started toward Henry.

"No!" Regina tried to shout, but it came out more like a stage whisper. "I'll get the crystal.

Gold grabbed Henry and brought him back closer to the bed. "Just a little assurance."

Emma tried frantically to summon her magic, but it was sputtering like a car out of gas.

Regina lifted her arm to summon the crystal, but the second she did she felt as though her magic was being pulled away again. Her arm shook. She felt the draining sensation again. Her heart was speeding up. Calm down. She needed to calm down. She took a slow breath, trying to calm herself. Her arm felt so heavy. It dropped back on the bed.

"Regina?" Robin's voice was laced with panic.

"Can't…" Her eyelids dropped. She felt completely drained of energy.

Gold lifted his arm ready to throw some magic at Regina. At the same time Henry pulled a chalice looking object from his bag and pointed it at Gold.

"Henry! What are you doing?" Emma yelled.

"I'm fixing everything. I'm destroying magic." He said.

Gold's leg suddenly buckled under him as his old injury returned. "What have you done, boy?" He grabbed Henry and hobbling on one leg pushed him into the wall. David and Robin immediately grabbed Gold and threw him out of the room.

As soon as the threat was removed, Robin raced to Regina's side and pulled her into his arms smoothing her hair back soothingly.

"Is she? Is she okay?" Henry asked.

As Robin continued stroking her hair, her heartbeat regulated and the beeping stopped. Robin nodded. He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "Just rest my love." Regina finally gave in to the sleep that her body had been begging for.

"You have a lot of explaining to do," Emma said angrily to Henry. She turned back to Robin. "Are you okay staying here with her?"

"I'm not going anywhere," Robin said.

"I'll have Mary Margaret swing by with some food later," David offered.

Robin just nodded. His attention was completely focused on Regina.

* * *

Gold was furious. He stood outside Regina's room where David and Robin had left him. He'd heard of the object Henry possessed, but he'd never seen it. His magic seemed to be gone. But it wasn't really that simple to destroy magic. And Gold knew just the man to help. He hobbled out of the hospital.

* * *

When Emma, David, and Henry left Regina's room, they'd expected to find Gold waiting. But he was nowhere to be seen.

"Do you think we should go look for him?" David asked.

"I think we have more important issues to deal with. What is that thing and what did it do with Gold's magic?" Emma asked Henry.

"It destroys magic. It's the balance to the chalice that was used to create Excaliber."

Emma frowned. "So it can undo what Excaliber did?"

Henry shrugged. "I don't know exactly how it works. It's just the key to destroying magic."

Emma sighed. "Henry, you can't go around using magic you don't understand."

Henry rolled his eyes. "You're just saying that because that's what Regina told you."

David put a hand on Emma's shoulder. "I think we all need to calm down. Let's go check on your mother. Maybe Zelena will know something about this."

"Zelena?"

"Yes. She's with your mother. I told you that."

Emma shook her head. "Right. Another reformed Mills woman."

David gave his daughter a reproachful look. He understood she was upset that Hook had been lost in the underworld, but for once it wasn't something that could be blamed on Regina. And with Emma's attitude it was no wonder Henry was treating Regina the way he was.

"Let's go."

* * *

Zelena jumped off the couch and backed into a corner when Henry pulled the chalice from his backpack.

"Keep that thing away from me!" Zelena shrieked.

"Henry, I told you to be careful with it," Emma said.

Zelena summoned a fireball to test her magic. She breathed a sigh of relief. She wondered what a safe distance from the thing was.

"Is your magic working, Emma?" Zelena asked.

Emma shook her head. "I don't think so. I couldn't summon it earlier with Gold." She flexed her fingers and concentrated but again nothing happened.

"Okay. What if you stand with me away from the thing?" Zelena asked.

Emma moved toward her. As she stood beside Zelena she tried to summon a fireball, but it wasn't working. She shook her head. "I think it's just gone."

Zelena shook her head. "I don't think it works that way. Even in the Land Without Magic, there's magic. It's just about tapping into it. I don't think that thing can destroy the magic itself. It must be trapping it like the sorcerer's hat or something."

"No. It destroys it." Henry argued. "And I plan to destroy all of it. Magic is ruining our lives." He started toward Zelena with the chalice, but Snow stepped in front of him and snatched the chalice from his hands.

"Henry, this isn't the right way to do things. You can't make choices for other people like that. If they want to give up their magic that's one thing, but you can't force the decision on them. We need to figure out a safe place to put this." Mary Margaret said.

"What about the Merry Men?" Zelena suggested surprising them all. "They can be trusted. Regina trusted them with her heart and with my daughter."

Mary Margaret nodded. "I'll take it to them on my way to the hospital. Are you sure you don't think we should be worried about what Gold will do next?"

"What can he do? The magic doesn't come back, so he can't really hurt anyone." Henry said.

"He managed to do plenty of damage when he was cursed," Emma said.

"Let's leave him be until he proves to be a problem. There's no reason to pick a fight with him."

Mary Margaret was grabbing her coat and still holding the chalice. Zelena eyed the object in her hand. "Do you mind if I meet you at the hospital? I'd like to see my sister as well."

Mary Margaret smiled warmly. "I think she'd like that."

Zelena nodded and disappeared in a cloud of green.


	12. Chapter 12

_**A/N: Sorry for the delay. Thanks for reading.**_

The nurse tapped Regina's shoulder.

"It's time for your medicine."

"Do you have to wake her? She's just barely fallen asleep," Robin said.

"I'm sorry, Whale said she needed to take these pills."

She shook Regina's shoulder a little harder.

Regina groaned and opened her eyes.

"Take these." The nurse put the pills in Regina's hand and grabbed a cup of water and quickly thrust that into Regina's other hand.

Regina was too tired to argue. She put the pills in her mouth and took a sip of the water. She winced in pain as the pills went down.

"Are you alright, love?" Robin asked. Regina nodded.

It was a lie. Her throat was throbbing. Every time she swallowed it felt like her throat was going to close up completely. She glanced around. The room was empty now except for Robin. Henry was gone. Henry. Gold. Magic. It was coming back. He had taken Gold's magic with some sort of a chalice. She couldn't feel her magic. Had he taken hers too? She felt her heart start to race again. She was panicking. She needed to calm down. She was fine.

"Regina? What's wrong?" Robin looked at her in concern. Just then green smoke filled the room and when it cleared Zelena stood in front of them.

Robin stood blocking Regina from Zelena. He couldn't help his instinctually reaction to her as a threat.

"Stand down, thief. I'm not going to hurt anyone. I just wanted to see how my sister's doing," Zelena said. "And warn you both that the perky princess is on her way for a visit as well."

Robin eased his posture and moved slightly so Regina could see her sister. Zelena took a step toward the bed and Robin tightened her grip on Regina's hand only to discover that she was shaking. He turned immediately to face her.

"Regina?"

Regina was trying to calm down. But it wasn't working. She couldn't feel her magic. She was scared. Her heart rate was climbing. The machine started beeping again.

"Relax, Regina. You're going to give yourself one of those heart failure things the people in this world are always so afraid of," Zelena said.

"Heart attack," Regina breathed. Focusing on her sister was distracting. That was good.

Zelena sat next to Regina and gestured to her neck. "That looks painful. May I?"

Regina slowly nodded. She trusted Zelena. Zelena held her hands over Regina's neck. Regina shut her eyes. It hurt, but she knew that was normal. The pain would be gone soon.

Robin sat tense next to her. He hated magic. And he still didn't fully trust Zelena. But Regina obviously did. And he had to trust Regina.

Regina felt the pain disappear and sighed in relief. "Thank you," she said. Robin immediately handed her water.

"You need to drink some more," he said.

She took the offered cup and drank the entire thing.

"Are you hungry?" Robin asked.

"Mary Margaret is bringing you some food. She's on her way," Zelena said. "Regina, did Henry take your magic?"

Regina's eyes widened. Her magic. That's why she couldn't feel her magic. Whatever Henry did to Gold he must have done to her as well. "I…I think so…I can't feel it. And I couldn't use it when Gold wanted me to give him the crystal."

Zelena nodded. "Emma's is gone as well."

"Is it permanent?" Regina asked a bit of fear seeping into her voice.

"I don't know. I don't know much about the object he's using. But it's not that easy to destroy magic. It's more likely that your magic has been deactivated than destroyed. We'll just have to find a way to reactivate it. Before Gold does preferably." Zelena said.

"Now that I can talk freely, I don't think there's any need for me to stay here. I want to go home. And of course we need to figure what Gold's next step is. Just because he doesn't have his magic doesn't mean he'll give up."

Zelena nodded.

"Regina, just because you can speak again doesn't mean you don't still need rest. You don't have your magic. And even with it I think the fact that you're in the hospital is evidence that you aren't immortal."

Regina turned and glared at Robin. "Thank you for pointing out that I nearly died. I completely forgot that I almost got myself killed to save all of you."

"Regina," Robin said. Damn she was frustrating.

"I don't want to hear it. Why don't you do something useful and go find Whale so I can see about getting checked out."

"If you're so fine, why don't you do it yourself? I'm going to check on my children." Robin stated angrily and huffed out of the room.

Hurt passed through Regina's face briefly before she schooled her face into something neutral and hit the call button. A nurse appeared almost immediately.

"Yes, madam mayor?"

"Please, find Dr. Whale for me. I'm ready to go." Regina requested.

"Oh, I don't think he's ready to release you," the nurse said.

"I don't care what you think. Just get him in here." Regina said.

The nurse nodded and hurried out of the room.

Zelena looked at Regina. She was scared. "We'll get your magic back."

Regina looked up at her sister. "What if we don't?"

"Then we don't. I still have my magic. We'll be okay. I'll keep our family safe," Zelena promised.

Regina nodded. "Are you okay? I mean, you're not angry with me? I didn't want to do it, Zelena. I know you loved him."

"He was going to kill you. He didn't care that I didn't want him to - he was going to do it anyway. He didn't really love me." Zelena said, but her voice trembled.

Regina took her sister's hand. "I think he didn't know what love really is so he couldn't love you the way you deserve to be loved."

 _Love is sacrifice._ Regina felt a pang as she remembered the words she'd spoken in the portal.

"I really did love him. I thought maybe I could have my happy ending too," Zelena said sadly.

"Maybe happy endings aren't always what we expect. Maybe this is the start of your happy ending. You have a beautiful little girl, and a sister, and a chance to be who you want to be. This is your second chance, Zelena."

"Do you really think the rest of the town will accept me?" Zelena asked.

Regina shrugged. "Maybe not everyone. But most of them are reasonable people."

Zelena smiled. "I think the Blue Fairy's a twit too."

Regina laughed, but quickly sobered. "Do you…do you want to have a funeral for Hades?"

Zelena was silent.

"I mean, something private, but so something that would allow you to say goodbye and have some closure…" Regina trailed off unsure if it was the right thing to offer.

Slowly, Zelena shook her head. "No. But maybe you could come with me and we could give him a tombstone. I would like to say goodbye."

Regina nodded. "Of course." She glanced around. "If Dr. Whale would ever get up here and release me, I'd be available whenever you want."

"I think Robin might be right about the rest thing, sis. You did have a rough day."

Regina didn't answer.

Zelena was about to push her when Mary Margaret and Dr. Whale arrived at the door to Regina's room.

"Finally!" Regina said. "Sign the discharge papers so I can get out of here," Regina commanded Whale.

"I do believe I'm the one with the medical degree, Regina, so how about you let me decide when you're ready to leave?"

"My curse gave you that damn degree. Sign the papers."

"Regina, there's no need to get so upset," Mary Margaret said. "I brought you some food."

"Oh, she can't eat that. Hospital policy," Whale stated.

"Then it's a good thing I'm leaving." Regina began removing the tape on her IV.

Whale hurried over and put his hand on top of hers stopping her actions. Regina tensed at the pressure he was applying. She felt weak. Without her magic he could do whatever he wanted. He was stronger. He could force her to stay here. She felt her breaths coming quicker. _Calm down, Regina. Calm down. Breathe._

"I promise I'll continue to rest and return immediately if something feels off, but I really just want to sleep in the comfort of my own bed. Zelena's healed my throat, so unless you had other concerns…" Regina trailed off.

Whale shook his head, but didn't move his hand.

"Then I don't see the problem," Regina said.

Whale signed. "I'll bring the papers, but this is going to be against medical advice. I don't think this is a good idea." He huffed and walked out.

"Arrogant prick," Regina said.

"I see you're feeling better," Mary Margaret said. "Would you like to come back to the loft? Henry and the other children are there," she offered.

Zelena stood up. "I'll go see about the papers."

"You really are welcome, Regina. Zelena's been there all day. You are both welcome to stay with us for dinner."

Regina shook her head. "I don't think Henry would want that. Or Robin for that matter."

Snow frowned. "Henry's just being a teenager, Regina. He'll come around. And I'm not sure why you would think Robin wouldn't want to see you."

"We're not…things are not great…He's angry with me for handing his daughter over to Zelena in the underworld. And I really just feel like he doesn't want me around her at all."

"Oh that's just silly, Regina. Robin adores you." Snow frowned when she got no response from Regina who was still looking at her hands folded on her lap. "Regina," Snow grabbed Regina's chin and lifted her head up and let out a small gasp of surprise to see the tears filling Regina's eyes. "What happened?" Mary Margaret asked.

Regina shook her head. "I don't know. We just keep fighting. And he feels so distant. I…in the portal, he died…and now he's alive, but I still feel like I've lost him."

Mary Margaret pulled Regina in for a hug and gently rubbed her back. "You are just exhausted. And you're both worried and stressed. It's going to work out. Just be patient and try not to push him away." Regina started to pull away from Mary Margaret's arms but she held her closer. "Regina. I know you. That's what you do when you get scared. But don't do it. Don't put up your walls. Talk to him. Let him help you."

Zelena walked back in. "Well, you're free, Whale-" she stopped abruptly when she saw her sister hugging her arch nemesis. She knew Regina and Mary Margaret had come to an agreement, but she didn't realize they were actually friends. It was weird.

"I suppose I'll come over for dinner. I don't feel like cooking," Regina said. "Are we driving or traveling by magic?"

"I think driving would be sufficient." Mary Margaret said. "My car is already here."

* * *

Gold looked at the small New York shop. Hopefully, the dragon would be willing to help. He didn't particularly feel like coercing anyone, but he would do what was necessary. Magic or not.

He stepped inside the shop and was overwhelmed with the smells of various herbs.

An elderly Chinese man looked up as he walked in. His eyes narrowed. Gold smirked. "So you know me," he said.

"I cannot help you," the man said.

"I believe you can."

"I have many teas, but nothing that would be of use to the Dark One," the man says.

Gold moved into his space. Even with a cane and no magic Gold was still intimidating.

"I think you will help me. But if you refuse, I don't think you'll like the consequences."

The man slowly nodded. "Upstairs."

* * *

Mary Margaret, Zelena, and Regina walked into the loft to find dinner already on the table.

Mary Margaret looked at her husband in surprise.

"Granny and Ruby stopped by shortly after you left with some food. They'd just finished helping the injured fairies. Apparently they aren't in great shape, but there's not much fairy dust left. Grumpy took a group down to the mines to try to replenish the supply."

Regina tried to absorb the information as she scanned the room for Henry or Robin. David noticed.

"Robin took the baby and Roland back to camp," David volunteered.

"What?" Zelena practically squealed. "He can't just run off with my daughter."

"Zelena, calm down, I'm sure…" Regina trailed off as her sister disappeared in smoke. She sighed. "Great. Now I have to go chasing after her."

Mary Margaret put her hand on Regina's arm, "Maybe you should let them work it out themselves."

Regina whirled around to face her. "Why? Because it's not my child? Because I have no say? Or because I should trust my sister not to hurt my soulmate?" As the word "soulmate" left Regina's mouth she felt her anger drain away. Mary Margaret was right. The answers to all her questions were "yes." Her shoulders slumped and she sat down and put her head in her hands. Why was everything so out of control?

Mary Margaret sat next to her and put an arm around her. "Just give it time, Regina."

Emma watched in surprise. Maybe she was being too hard on Regina. Robin was alive, but she wasn't really getting her happy ending either. "You must be hungry. We should eat. Dad, do you want to see if you can get Henry to come down?"

David nodded and disappeared up the stairs.

Regina frowned. "Why doesn't he want to come down?" She held her breath as she awaited Emma's answer.

Emma shrugged. "I have no idea. I don't understand what's going through his head right now. He's being disrespectful, running away, using magic he doesn't understand..."

"Maybe he's just going through a rebellious stage," Mary Margaret suggested.

David returned alone. "He says he's not hungry." He left off the rest of Henry's response. He didn't know what had gotten into Henry. Where all this anger had come from.

Regina looked at the stairs. "I'm going to talk to him," she moved to stand up, but David quickly put a hand on her arm gently pushing her back into her seat.

"I don't think that's a great idea. I think he needs to cool off a little," David said.

"He's my son and I've had enough of this. He doesn't get to run away and misbehave and then sit in his room and pout. That is not how he was raised," Regina stood up.

David and Emma exchanged a look, but Regina didn't notice. She was already on her way up the stairs.

* * *

Regina stopped at the top of the stairs and turned toward the bed. She was out of breath. Out of breath from climbing one flight of stairs. How long was it going to take to get her energy back? Probably much longer without the help of her magic. She felt the tightness in her chest again. No, she wasn't going to think about that.

"What are you doing here? I don't want you here. Just leave me alone," Henry said.

"Henry Daniel Mills. Turn around and look at me this minute," Henry looked up in surprise at the strength and tone of her voice.

"I-"

"No. I'm not finished. I've had enough of this behavior. Phone and television privileges are gone. And you're not seeing Violet for a week. I don't know what made you think it would be okay to run off to New York and drag that poor girl with you, but it is not okay."

"You can't tell me what to do. I'm staying with Emma, not you."

"I don't care where you're staying. I'm your mother and you will do as I say. And you better lose the attitude right now, unless you want to extend your punishment."

Henry met her eyes and then looked sullenly down at his hands, but he didn't say anything.

Regina sat down on the bed. Henry immediately scooted farther toward the other end. Regina closed her eyes and pushed down her emotions.

"Henry, we've had the talk about running away more times than I can count. I think you understand why that was dangerous and wrong."

Still avoiding looking at her, he nodded. "I'm sorry left without telling anyone. And I'm sorry I brought Violet along and put her at risk. But I'm not sorry I went."

"Okay. That's a start. Why did you go?" Regina asked patiently.

"Obviously, I went to stop magic. To get the object I needed to destroy it."

Regina nodded slowly. "You wanted to destroy magic. Did you think about what that actually means?"

"Of course. It means we'll all be safe. All these awful things happen because there's magic in Storybrooke. Think about how many people you hurt with your magic. And Gold, and Hades, and Zelena."

"I think about it everyday, Henry." Regina said softly.

"Yeah, well without magic none of that would have happened. You could have been the nice girl you were with Daniel," Henry said.

"Henry, it's not that simple."

"Yes it is. And with magic gone we can't be threatened everyday by some new magic wielding villain. See? I was just saving us all," Henry said.

"Henry, I know your intentions were good, but you didn't think about the consequences. What are we going to do when some new magical threat does come to town? How will we defend ourselves? And what about how losing magic is going to affect your family? Emma and I were both born with magic. It's part of us. How do you think it affects us to have a part of us missing," she paused as her throat tightened a little in fear.

Henry looked up in surprise. "You don't have your magic anymore either?"

Regina shook her head.

"I…Is that why your heart rate went up and you couldn't breathe when we were at the hospital?"

"I think I was having a panic attack. The feeling of having your magic removed is a bit unpleasant."

Henry looked up guilt filling his features. "I'm sorry. I didn't know it would hurt you. Are you okay now?"

Regina smiled. "I'm adjusting."

"So Zelena's the only one with magic?" Henry asked.

"Oh, I don't think so. The fairies still have their fairy dust and I'm sure Mal is fine, she's stayed away since the showdown with Hades as far as I know," Regina said.

Henry stood. "Then we need to go. We have to get their magic now before they do anything."

Regina put a hand on Henry.

"You're not listening, Henry. This was a mistake. You can't destroy magic. There will be consequences. And you are not going anywhere. You're grounded, remember?"

"You're just trying to punish me for taking your magic."

"Henry. I've had enough of this. I know you're angry. I get it. I'm angry too. None of this is fair. But this is not how you deal with your anger," she paused. "Maybe it's how I used to deal with mine, but not you, Henry. You've always been much more levelheaded than me. You've always made better decisions. Don't stop now. You're the truest believer, right?" She smiled at him.

Henry didn't know what to think. He was angry with Hades. Angry with Gold. Angry with Regina. Angry with Emma.

"Henry, talk to me. What are you so angry about? I think you'll feel better if you talk about it."

"Right. 'Cause that's what you do," Henry sassed.

"I thought you didn't want to be like me," Regina said.

"I don't," he responded immediately and emphatically.

Regina kept her expression neutral. This wasn't about her. This was about Henry. "Well, then start talking."

"There's nothing to talk about. I heard you. I'm grounded. No phone, no TV, and no Violet."

Regina sighed. "And no attitude if you ever want those things back."

Henry rolled his eyes.

Regina narrowed hers. "Don't test me, Henry."

"Sorry," Henry mumbled.

Regina stood. "Well, if you don't want to talk about it, then we'll just go downstairs and you can apologize to everyone for making them worry about you when you ran away and for being rude since you've been back."

Henry didn't move.

"Now, Henry."

He stood and walked sullenly down the stairs.


	13. Chapter 13

_**A/N: Here's a longer one. Thanks for sticking with this. P.S. Sorry for any errors. They are all mine. I don't have a beta.** _

"Robin!" Little John yelled as soon Zelena materialized in the middle of the camp.

"Thank you, Little John. I do hate straining my voice," Zelena said.

"Would you keep it down, John?" Robin said as he emerged from his tent. "I just got-" He stopped in his tracks when he saw Zelena.

"Hello, Robbie dear. If you were trying to kidnap our daughter, you really should have been more creative. This" she gestured to the camp, "is a little obvious."

"I didn't kidnap her. She's my daughter."

"Ah, true, but she's mine too. And you took her without asking," Zelena said.

"I don't have to ask your permission. She's in my care. You just get to visit," Robin said.

"Well, that was before I was redeemed. I think that changes our situation a little, don't you?"

"No."

"Well, I don't care what you think. Regina knows I deserve to be in my daughter's life," Zelena said.

"It's not Regina's decision. I don't know how many times I have to say that. She's my daughter. Regina may have forgiven you for everything, but I haven't. And I don't want my daughter being raised by such a horrible, sadistic woman."

Zelena's eyes widened. She was a bit shocked Robin had the nerve to say something like that to her.

"Robin, maybe you should calm down," Little John started.

Zelena felt her magic begging to be unleashed on the fool. She was furious. How dare he?

"He's right. You better watch it. I still have my magic," Zelena said. "Where is my daughter?" She wanted to take her daughter and disappear, but Regina was trusting her. She couldn't do that. She did want to show her sister she could change too.

"You're not taking her," Robin said.

"No. I'm not. I just want to say goodnight since you left without letting me say goodbye," Zelena said. "We'll discuss custody tomorrow, when Regina is feeling better."

"We can discuss custody now. Regina has no say in this," Robin said.

Zelena frowned. "So you keep saying. What is going on with you? I thought you loved her. I thought you two were soulmates or something sickening like that. And now you don't want her involved?" Suddenly Zelena felt the color drain from her face. "Are you leaving her?"

"What? Of course not." Robin said.

"Then stop being an idiot. If you and Regina are together, she's a part of this too. We'll discuss custody tomorrow." And with that she stalked past Robin and into his tent.

"She's right you know. If you love the Queen, you better start treating her like she's part of this new family of yours," Little John said.

"John, I told you we are not talking about Regina." He turned and hurried after Zelena.

* * *

When Henry came downstairs and apologized everyone was a little surprised. He started the meal staring sullenly at his food, but after a look from Regina he began answering his grandfather's questions and joking around with Emma. Regina on the other hand was not enjoying dinner. She kept glancing at the clock. Why wasn't her sister back? Had she hurt Robin?

"I'm sure they're fine, Regina," Mary Margaret said. Regina just nodded.

They were just starting to clean up when Zelena returned.

"Oh thank God."

Zelena frowned. "Oh, sorry, I guess I should have come back immediately. I just needed a little time. I didn't think that you would be worried."

"You didn't bring the baby back," Mary Margaret noted.

"No. I told Robin that we could discuss custody tomorrow when Regina could be there," Zelena said.

Regina couldn't suppress the smile that was forming on her face and looked at Zelena with hope. "Robin wanted to wait for me?" Zelena hesitated and Regina's smile fell. " _You_ wanted to wait for me."

"Regina, it's not-" Zelena began.

"Oh my God, he already left you twice, clearly the stupid lion tattoo doesn't mean anything," Henry said in exacerbation.

Regina looked like someone had slapped her.

"Henry!" Emma scolded. "Apologize to your mother."

"Why? It's the truth," Henry said.

"Upstairs. Now." Emma said.

"Fine. That's where I wanted to be anyway," he stomped up the stairs.

An awkward silence filled the room.

"Regina, it's not-" Mary Margaret started.

"No. It's okay." Regina said holding her hand up to silence them. "I think I'm going to go home. It's been a long day. Zelena, you're welcome to stay at the mansion if you'd like."

Zelena nodded. "I'll take us there."

"Mary Margaret, David, thank you for dinner. Emma, if Henry gives you trouble, I'm happy to take him. Goodnight." Regina nodded to Zelena and they disappeared.

* * *

Regina stood looking out her bedroom window. She finally understood. Henry was angry because he felt helpless. He couldn't protect anyone he cared about. He couldn't protect her from being hurt by Robin. Couldn't protect Emma from losing Hook. Couldn't save the town from Hades. That's why he tried to destroy magic. Then he'd have more control. He thought that's how he could protect his family. It made perfect sense. She'd turned to magic when she'd felt helpless. He didn't have magic, so of course he would do the opposite. But it hadn't fixed anything. And that made him more angry. She'd talk to him tomorrow. Although this wasn't the trait she'd have liked him to inherit from her it did make her feel like he really was her son after all.

Understanding Robin was another story. He was her soulmate. She should feel connected. Why didn't he want her in his daughter's life? Why was he so angry with her all the time? She'd fixed her mistake and gotten his daughter back. Defeated Hades. Had she really ruined her life when she'd walked away from the tavern? Gone down a path she couldn't return from? If even her soulmate couldn't love her, maybe redemption wasn't really possible. Maybe she'd only achieved the illusion of redemption.

* * *

Gold's lips formed a malicious grin as the portal began spinning. Now, he just had to make sure he had the right time and location to find Belle's nursemaid. He jumped through the portal holding onto the Black Fairy's wand. He wasn't stupid. If he was going through a portal, he was going to have a means to return.

The "dragon" stared at the empty space in the room when the portal closed. The war was beginning. He hoped she was ready.

* * *

Robin had left his tent. He was sitting alone by the fire while his children slept. He had to stop this. This anger. He just didn't know how. He hadn't felt this way since Marian had died. He was furious. And mostly with Regina. Every time she tried to step in and make peace between him and Zelena it was all he could do not to unleash his anger on her. And the way she kept putting everyone else's problems and needs above his. 'Oh, Robin, just forgive her. She's my sister and I forgave her.' Well, wasn't the Evil Queen a right saint now. He huffed.

"Papa?" Robin turned to the soft footsteps approaching him. Roland crawled onto his lap.

"I thought you were sleeping my boy," Robin said.

"I woked up. I had a bad dream. About the flying monkeys. I miss the soft bed at Regina's," Roland said.

Robin sighed. And now on top of being angry at Regina, he felt like a horrible father.

"Come on, let's get you back to bed. You can sleep in my bed tonight," Robin offered.

"Really?" Roland asked in excitement.

Robin nodded and picked his son up as he headed back to the tent.

* * *

Gold frowned as he looked at the large white colonial home in front of him. He held tight to Pandora's box. The dragon better hope he sent him to the right place or he was going to face Gold's wrath.

* * *

Mary Margaret walked over to wake Emma on the couch only to find her with her face buried in a pillow crying.

"Emma?" Mary Margaret said softly.

Emma lifted her head and let Mary Margaret pull her up into her arms. "Shush. It's going to be okay."

"I...he got to come back in the portal. Zeus sent him back." Emma sobbed.

"I know, sweetheart."

"I miss him. Everything is such a mess. I lose everyone."

"You have your father and me. And Henry. And Regina. You have family. And friends."

"Regina? Are you serious? She has tried to kill me like a hundred times."

"And she's saved you just as many. Why don't I make you some pancakes and hot chocolate," Mary Margaret suggested.

Emma nodded and followed her mother to the kitchen.

* * *

Regina shivered a little. It was chilly in the morning air. She stood by her sister as Zelena magically created a tombstone for Hades.

"Do you want a minute alone?" Regina asked.

Zelena nodded.

"I'll wait closer to the car. Take as much time as you need," Regina said, giving Zelena's arm a squeeze as she turned and headed back to the car.

Zelena bent down and placed a flower on the tombstone. She began speaking softly.

Regina was almost at her car when she saw something moving in the trees. She lifted her arm ready to create a fireball when she remembered she didn't have any magic. She held her arm up. Whoever it was wouldn't know that. She took a step toward where she's seen the movement.

"At ease your majesty. It's only me," Hook said stepping out. "I wasn't sure it was safe to be seen with Zelena here, but since you've spotted me, I figured it best to identify myself before you decided to burn me to a crisp."

Regina smiled. "You still got to come back."

"I don't understand."

"Zeus sent you back?" Regina inquired.

Hook nodded. "How did you-"

"It's a long story involving a spell and a portal, but we got a little peek at some of the possible future outcomes on our way back from the underworld. Why did Zeus return you this time?"

"For helping you. I sent a page back in the storybook telling you all how to defeat Hades and it must have worked seeing that Zeus let me return as a thank you for helping destroy Hades," Hook said.

"Well, I suppose indirectly you did supply the knowledge we needed."

"The bloody pirate's back? How many times can that man be resurrected?" Zelena asked.

Hook and Regina turned in surprise, not having heard her approach.

"Let's get you back to Emma. And then I believe we have a meeting with Robin?" Regina asked her sister.

Zelena nodded and they all piled into Regina's car.

* * *

Gold looked around but didn't see Belle's nursemaid. He moved slowly from room to room until he found the room with the jail cell. And there in the corner of the cell was the nurse. He smiled. He knew he sent her here for a reason. He quickly removed the lock.

"Well, come along if you want to get out of here we don't have all day. Just hold onto my hand, dearie."

The woman looked petrified. "Why would I go with you? You sent me here."

"Do you still care about Belle?"

"Of course! You know I loved her like a daughter."

Gold's grin became larger. "Good. That's what I was hoping. She needs your help, but in order to help her, you're going to have to trust me. Is she worth the risk?"

Fear still filled the woman's eyes, but she nodded and took Gold's hand. With his other hand he waved the wand and a portal began to open.

Just then the door flung open and Hyde rushed in with a syringe and a vial. Jekyll had been in the lab working when he'd heard a commotion in the prison and Hyde had to come deal with it. He couldn't have his prisoner escape. He was so intent on stopping them, he didn't know the portal that had open and was sucked right in with Gold and the woman.

* * *

Emma opened the door expecting to find Regina coming to check on Henry.

"Miss me, love?" Hook asked as he smiled at her.

"What…what…are you doing here? I thought…I thought that since things were different you weren't coming back."

"Well, you were wrong, my love."

"Alright love birds, do you plan to leave us all in the hallway while the two of you make eyes at each other, or can we come in?" Regina asked.

Emma stepped back allowing them to enter.

"Is Henry awake?" Regina asked.

"Not yet. Do you want me to wake him?" Emma asked.

Regina shook her head. "No it's fine. I'll talk to him when I get back. We're going to meet with Robin about Zelena's daughter and then we'll be back to discuss our little magic problem. And Gold. I just wanted to make sure he didn't lose a leg walking here from the cemetery. He's missing enough limbs as it is."

Hook glared at Regina, but Emma grinned. "Thank you, Regina."

Regina nodded before she turned and left.

* * *

Zelena huffed as she got out of Regina's car. She much preferred the surprise arrivals her magic allowed, but Regina had insisted on taking the car. Regina walked around the car slowly and started toward the camp.

Roland had heard the car and came racing toward her. She scooped him up into her arms.

"Well, hello there little knight. Have you been keeping guard over your sister?"

Roland nodded solemnly. "I kept her real safe. Papa said I did a good job."

"Well, I can't wait to see the beautiful princess," Regina said.

"Regina, she's not a princess. She's just my sister, silly." Roland said.

"Oh dear. And here I thought you were guarding a princess. Are you sure she's not a princess?"

Roland frowned and seemed deep in thought. "Well, you are a Queen so if she's your daughter then does that make her a princess?"

Regina's smile dropped. "Roland, you know I'm not your sister's mother. Zelena is her mother."

"But Papa doesn't love Zelena, and Papa says that babies come from mommy's tummies when two people really love each other."

Zelena and Regina turned matching shades of red and looked at each other. "Well, you know I'm Henry's mother, but his father didn't love me. He loved Emma. But Emma couldn't take care of Henry when he was little so I got to be his mommy. It's kind of like that okay?"

Roland nodded. "Okay. So you and Papa are going to take care of my sister because Zelena can't?"

"Let's go find your Papa, Roland. Do you know where he is?"

Roland nodded.

"Good." Regina put Roland down. "Lead the way Sir Roland."

Roland giggled and led them back to the camp. As they walked up, Robin was just stepping out of the tent with his crying daughter.

"Shush. I know you're hungry sweetheart. Be patient with Papa he's got to warm your bottle before you can have it."

Zelena waved her hand and a bottle of warm milk appeared. She held the bottle out to Robin as a goodwill gesture. Robin stared at the bottle for a moment before taking it.

Regina could feel the anger and tension radiating off Robin. His body language was completely closed off. She would be brave and risk the rejection to break the ice. She stepped toward him and gave him a light kiss on the cheek.

"I missed you last night. I didn't expect you to leave before dinner," Regina said. "I'm sorry I snapped at you at the hospital. I'm not a very good patient…"

Robin shrugged. "I just needed to get back to my children. I'm sure you understand."

Regina nodded and took a step back. Awkward silence filled the air.

"Regina, are we going to go to your house tonight?" Roland asked.

Regina looked to Robin, who immediately turned away from her gaze.

"Roland, why don't you go find Will? The grownups need to talk."

Roland's lip jutted out in a pout. "I wanna play with Regina," he whined.

"I'm so sorry, Roland, but I can't stay very long. But we'll play soon," Regina said.

Roland sighed. "Okay," and he ran off to find Will.

The three adults looked at each other. No one was talking. Robin was glaring at Zelena and avoiding Regina. Zelena, annoyed, looked like her patience was ready to snap.

Regina took a deep breath. Robin clearly didn't want her here. Didn't want her involved with his daughter. But someone had to start this.

"So I think maybe we should try to forget about what's happened before and just try to move forward," Regina started.

"Forget what's happened before? That's your grand suggestion?" Robin said.

"I just meant-" Regina began.

"You just meant you want me to forget that your sister is a murderer and rapist and let her take my daughter and go play mommy," Robin snapped at her.

Regina took a step back. She hadn't been prepared for that. She blinked and hesitantly reached a hand toward Robin, but he jerked away from her.

The baby had forgotten about her bottle and was now crying at the top of her lungs.

"Robin, you're upsetting her," Regina said softly.

He looked down at his daughter and tried to take some calming breaths. He began bouncing her lightly.

"And this is an example of why you're a better parent to my daughter than I am?" Zelena said stepping into Robin's space. Regina reached out and pulled her sister back gently.

"Okay. I think we all need to calm down. You both love your daughter. This is about what's best for her, right? So yes, Robin, I do think you need to forget about the past for now. We need to think about what's best for your daughter. She has two parents who love her. You don't want to deprive her of her mother's love."

"That woman is not her mother. She's just someone who gave birth to her," Robin said.

"I am her mother. And I am a lot of things, but I'm not a rapist. I didn't force you to do anything you didn't want to," Zelena shot back.

Regina winced. She didn't really need the reminder that Robin had willingly slept with another woman just weeks after he'd told her he loved her. She took a deep breath. This wasn't about her. She could feel her sister's magic flaring beside her.

"Zelena, no magic. We're not going to debate your crimes right now." Regina said.

Zelena pursed her lips. "Alright. I'm not trying to take her from you, Robin, but she is my daughter too. She needs her mother."

"What if we go back to the original agreement?" Regina asked. "Zelena gets supervised visits. If those go well, we can work from there."

Zelena and Robin were both still glaring and the baby was still crying.

Regina wanted to grab the baby and go play with Roland, but that wasn't an option. It was very clear Robin didn't consider her a parent figure to his daughter.

Zelena didn't like it one bit. She didn't like being treated like she was a time bomb. Like she was going to hurt her own daughter. She opened her mouth to argue, but caught sight of Regina who looked like she was on the verge of bursting into tears. She did regret putting her sister in this situation. She was finally starting to see that most of Regina's life had been just as painful as hers. Just in different ways.

"Fine. I'll agree to that," Zelena said. Regina looked at Zelena in surprise, but quickly turned to Robin.

"Robin?" He didn't answer. "Please?" Regina asked. He was still silent, but he handed the crying girl to Zelena.

"You can feed her."

Zelena's face lit up when her daughter was placed in her arms. "Thank you," she said and moved to the log to sit with her little girl leaving Robin and Regina standing alone.

Regina bit her lip. She didn't know what to say. She didn't know what happened and she didn't know how to fix it. But she didn't want to appear weak either. If Robin didn't want her, she wasn't going to beg. Henry was right. He'd left her twice already, why was she surprised he was pushing her away now?

"I…" she looked up at Robin who was still avoiding her gaze. "I'll wait in the car."

Robin heard the tremble in her voice and felt the guilt wash over him again.

"You don't have to," he said. He sighed. "We should talk."

Regina swallowed. "Now?"

"I think I've put it off long enough," Robin said.

Regina closed the space between them and put her hand on his lips silencing him. "No. Don't say it. I can't hear it right now. Don't talk to me. Don't see me, but please don't say it right now. I can't deal with losing you right now."

Robin removed her hand. "Losing me? What are you talking about? I want to talk about this" he waved his arms "this Zelena/baby thing that we've been avoiding." He frowned as he saw some of the merry men watching. "Shall we take this discussion to your car?"

Regina felt relief wash over her. She smiled playfully. "Don't think you can get me in the backseat of the car and distract me, thief."

Robin frowned in confusion. "Why would we be in the back?"

Regina laughed and shook her head. "I'll show you later."

Once they were settled in the privacy of her car, Regina turned to face Robin.

He met her gaze. "I'm sorry I've been so cold and moody. I know I told you it was about you giving Zelena my daughter and putting her in danger, but it's really more than that."

"Okay." Regina said waiting for him to go on.

"It's the whole mess. I don't understand how you can forgive her and expect me to forgive her after what she's done to us. To me. And then on top of it expect me to trust her with my daughter. I don't understand why you're defending her. Why you're on her side. I feel betrayed."

Regina opened her mouth to speak, but Robin continued.

"I mean she tricked me into being intimate with her. Into creating life with her. How do you think that makes me feel?"

Tears formed in Regina's eyes. She couldn't hold them back anymore. She hadn't slept last night. She was so tired and her emotions were all over the place.

"Don't you think I hate what she did to you? Don't you think I hate knowing it was my fault? And now I'm stuck watching the two of you co-parent. I hate it. But I can't hold onto the hate and anger. I wasted too much of my life doing that. She's my sister and she's trying to change and…but I love you. And she hurt you and I can't fix it. And I can't ever give you what she did. And that's my fault too."

Robin reached out and wiped the tears from Regina's face. "Hey. Hey. So we're both a mess. We're both hurt and angry and we'll figure it out."

"Together?" Regina asked softly.

"Together." Robin agreed. "It's not your fault what she did."

"She did it to hurt me."

"And it did." He said.

"But she hurt you too."

"Yes. But I did get a beautiful little girl out of it," Robin said.

"She is beautiful. She has your dimples." Regina agreed.

Robin smiled.

"Robin, I understand that it's not my place to tell you what to do, but Zelena grew up without her mother and I grew up with…well, Cora…and it really messed us up. I know you don't trust Zelena, but I really do think she's trying to do right by her daughter. Don't take away your daughter's chance to have a mother," Regina said softly.

Robin nodded. "She's always going to have a mother, Regina."

What did that mean? He was agreeing to let Zelena be a part of her life? He wanted Regina to be a part of her life? Maybe she should clarify.

"What did you mean, you can never give me what Zelena did?" Robin continued.

"hmm?" Regina asked distracted by her thoughts.

"What did you mean when you said you can never give me what Zelena did? You said something similar in New York, but there was so much to take in I didn't think much about it."

Regina braced herself. So they were going to tackle that today too. "I can't have children. I…" She bit her lip and looked down at her hands. "A long time ago, I took a potion so I wouldn't be able to have children. My mother had tried to trick me into another relationship I didn't want, and I thought she only wanted me to have a child so she could use my child to gain power. So I decided to take away the option."

She continued looking down at her lap. She couldn't bear to see the disappointment or disgust in his eyes. He slid his hand under her chin and tipped her head up.

"Regina, that doesn't change my feelings for you. We have Henry, and Roland, and a beautiful baby girl. We don't need anyone else to be happy," Robin said.

Regina could feel the tears in her eyes again. She really needed to get some sleep so she could get control of her emotions. "You want me to be a part of your daughter's life?"

"Of course." Robin said. "Unless you don't want to be."

"No, of course I want to. I just thought…well you keep saying that I have no say in what happens to her. That she isn't mine…"

Robin sighed. "I'm sorry. Why do you put up with me, love? I've been horrible to you."

"I'm the evil queen. I don't think I get to judge you."

Robin turned very serious. "Don't ever say that again. You are not the evil queen anymore. And you do not deserve to be treated poorly. Regina, the past is done. We have to let it go. You are my future."

Regina leaned in and kissed him. As she moved closer, she banged her elbow on the console between the seats and pulled away.

"Ouch," she whined, rubbing her elbow. "This is why people use the backseat."

Robin grinned as he understood her earlier comment. "Oh, well, if you'd told me that was what the backseat was for…"

Robin had missed this. They'd had so little alone time without worrying about his daughter's safe or the whole town's safety. This time he leaned across the seat and reached for Regina's face. Regina pulled back and jumped out of the car.

"Regina?" Robin asked following suit.

"Something's happening."

Zelena was hurrying toward the car still tightly holding her daughter. Regina met her eyes. Magic.


	14. Chapter 14

Gold landed on his feet with the woman, but his unexpected traveling partner did not. He landed with a thud on the forest floor.

Hyde looked around wildly. "Where are we?"

"Storybrooke. You weren't invited," Gold said. "I don't have time for you, so find someone else to help you. Or don't. I don't particularly care."

Hyde did not like that answer. "I don't need help. I'm perfectly capable of getting what I want on my own."

"Good. Then leave us. I have things to do."

He opened Pandora's box and Belle appeared fast asleep on the forest floor.

"Oh my!" the woman said. "Is that?"

"All you have to do is kiss her and she'll wake up. And then you can be on your merry little way," Gold instructed.

Hyde looked around taking in his surroundings. He frowned at the vial in his hands. He needed to get rid of this before Jekyll tried to use it on himself.

"What are you waiting for? Kiss her already," Gold snapped.

The woman leaned over Belle and brushed the hair off her forehead. She turned to look back at Gold in suspicion.

"Who are you and what do you want with Belle?" She asked.

Gold fumed. Why did everyone have to be so difficult? If he had his magic this wouldn't be an issue. Which of course was his next problem. He had to figure out how to reverse whatever Henry had done. The dagger would probably do it. He just needed to find the right spell.

"Belle is my wife and I'd like her to wake up," Gold said.

* * *

Regina, Zelena, and Robin were trudging through the forest, when Regina stopped abruptly when she heard voices. "It's Gold."

"You two stay here and let me deal with this," Zelena said.

"Zelena," Regina started.

"You don't have your magic. You're useless."

Regina flinched. It was true. She felt useless.

"Gold doesn't have magic either," Robin pointed out.

"For once, just do what I say," Zelena said and stalked toward the voices.

Hyde spotted her first. "Who's this?"

Gold spun around to face Zelena. Great. Just what he needed. He felt his anger rising. He couldn't stand that witch.

"Feels like old times, doesn't it, Rumple? Me with my magic, you at my mercy," she smirked.

"I'm not at your mercy. You have no control over me, Zelena."

"No?" She waved her hand and Gold grabbed at his throat, as he felt something invisible tightening around it.

The woman next to Belle's sleeping form screamed. The strange man just watched. Regina looked at Robin. He frowned, knowing she intended to intervene and reached for her arm to hold her back, but she was already moving.

"Zelena, enough." Regina said as she neared her sister.

"I thought I told you to stay put," Zelena fumed, but she lowered Gold to the ground. "Listen, Rumple. Without your magic, you're no match for me. Stay away from my family."

Regina was glancing between the strange man and the strange woman. Who were these people? And where had they come from.

"What did you do Gold?" She asked.

"Do? I don't know what you mean, your majesty," Gold retorted.

"Who are these people and why are they here? What are you planning?" Regina asked.

"I don't believe I owe you any explanations."

Robin moved closer, but remained out of sight.

Hyde looked around. He had to be careful. He couldn't use the serum on the witch. She had magic. That could be dangerous. And it would be suicide to use it on the Dark One. He surveyed the remaining options. The old woman or the royal.

Regina narrowed her eyes at the strange man. He was clutching something in his hand. And his eyes kept darting between her and the strange woman. She took a step back closer to Zelena. Had Gold gone to the world the others had gotten stuck in in the portal? This wasn't the doctor she remembered seeing. She frowned.

"Enough, Gold. How do these two help you wake Belle?" Regina asked.

"She loves her."

Regina looked at Zelena and a silent understanding passed. Zelena waved her hand and both Gold and the strange man were tied to a tree.

Regina stepped toward the woman and held out her hand. "I'm Regina. And you are?"

"Sarah," the woman said softly.

"Are you alright, Sarah?" Regina asked.

The woman wouldn't meet Regina's eyes, but nodded her head.

"It's alright if you'd like to try to wake Belle. We won't let Gold hurt her," Regina said.

Robin stepped forward and started to move toward Regina, but Zelena stopped him with a shake of her head.

Finally, the woman looked up. "Why should I believe you? I have no idea where I am or who any of you are."

Regina nodded. "Okay. That's fair. You're in Storybrooke. It's a land that was created by the Dark curse. My name is Regina and this is my sister" Regina stumbled slightly on the word "sister." It wasn't as if she hadn't referred to Zelena as her sister before, but it still felt odd to her. She had family. She wasn't alone.

"Just make her kiss Belle already. I don't have time for this," Gold fumed.

Zelena glared at him. "Shut up, Imp." She waved her hand and Gold couldn't speak. "Thanks for teaching me that one, sis."

"No one is going to make you do anything you don't want to, but we really can't stand here in the forest all day, so if you don't want to try to wake her then we'll all just head back to town," Regina said.

The woman looked between Belle and Regina and then around to the rest of the group. She stopped on Robin whom she hadn't noticed before.

Regina followed her gaze. "That's Robin Hood."

The woman looked back down at Belle and bent over placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. Nothing happened.

"It didn't work." The woman said. "Why didn't it work? I love Belle."

"It's not a strong enough bond. You're just her nursemaid. She was too young to even remember you when you left," the strange man laughed.

Regina spun around and glared at the man. "Who are you?"

He turned his creepy smile on Regina. "You can call me Hyde. And I think I've had enough of these restraints." He broke through the ropes tying him to the tree and stepped toward Regina, but Robin quickly stepped in between them.

Zelena frowned and flung him back into the tree. "You may be strong, but I have magic."

Regina was grateful for Robin's body blocking her from Hyde. She felt defenseless and _weak_ without her magic. She didn't like the feeling at all. Masking her insecurities, she took charge again.

"Zelena, why don't you take him and Gold to the jail. I'll send David and Emma over to help you interrogate them. Robin and I can take Sarah and Belle back to Snow's and start working on a new plan to wake Belle, alright?"

Zelena nodded and she disappeared with the two men.

Robin picked up Belle and they headed back to the car.

* * *

Hook sat at the breakfast bar on a tall stool and frowned. "So this cup thing destroyed everyone's magic?"

"The evil duo doesn't think it's that simple."

"The evil duo?" Hook questioned as Snow admonished, "Emma," and looked pointedly at Henry.

"Sorry. Regina and Zelena. They think, well at least Zelena thinks that it's just disabled or deactivated or whatever."

"Who cares as long as no one can use magic," Henry said. "We need to get Zelena's too."

"Henry, I thought your mother talked to you about this," Snow said.

"Regina's just mad 'cause I took her magic," Henry said.

"Your _mother_ ," Snow emphasized, "has lost a part of herself. It's like someone taking away your hearing."

Neal started crying.

"I'm going to go to Violet's," Henry said as Snow stood to get Neal.

"Um, I thought you were grounded," Emma said.

"That's not fair. I'm not even living with her. You're my mom. Why are you letting her make all the rules?"

Hook watched with surprise. He'd never seen Henry like this.

Emma sighed. "You're not the child of divorce. You aren't going to pit us against each other. Go upstairs and read a book until you have your temper under control. I'm not discussing anything with you when you're like this."

Henry stormed up the stairs.

Snow turned to Emma. "You're making it worse. Regina is trying to discipline him and you are undercutting her with every little comment you make. You sound like you agree with Henry that it's good he took her magic."

Emma shrugged. "Maybe it is. She just seems to get into trouble when she has it. Maybe Henry is right and magic is bad. Look what it did to Hook. Look what it did to me."

Hook frowned. "I don't understand what's going on here. And I don't mean with this magic stealing object. What's going on with you and Regina? You two were getting along fine and working together in the underworld. What happened?"

"What always happens. Regina gets in the way."

"I don't understand," Hook said.

"Emma, let it go. Hook is back. You have everything you want," Snow interjected.

"I had it all in the portal. I was with you. We were finally happy. But Regina decides she knows best and just rips me out. And left you. She only pulled me out."

"Love, I wasn't in the portal. She couldn't pull me out."

"It doesn't matter. She didn't care. When I got out, she didn't even care that she'd taken me away from you."

"But she saved your life, yes?"

Emma frowned and crossed her arms.

"Henry said she waited until the last minute. Until the portal was closing."

"So you're mad because she took too long or because she didn't leave you there?" Hook asked.

"You make it sound crazy."

"Not crazy. A bit irrational maybe," Hook said. "I don't know everything you've been through, but I do know that I'm here now. And we're together. We can be happy. But you have to let go of that anger."

Emma deflated. She hated being wrong. Hook was right. Her mother was right. Regina was right. She'd been angry about the situation, but it wasn't really Regina's fault. She'd done everything she could. And as soon as Hook returned, Regina had brought him to her.

"Alright. Alright. You're supposed to be a villain. When did you get so smart and compassionate?"

"When I met you," Hook leaned in and kissed her. "I've missed you, love."

Emma smiled and laced her fingers through Hook's.

There was a loud knock on the door. Snow sighed as Neal, who she had just gotten calmed down, woke up screaming again. "David!" She called as she tried to calm Neal again. David came running down the stairs and opened the door to reveal Regina and Robin with Belle in his arms and an elderly woman standing behind them.

Regina immediately stepped inside and began giving orders.

"Lay her down on the couch for now. Emma, you and David need to meet Zelena at the jail. She's got Gold and some stranger there. Sarah, have a seat,"

"What happened to Belle?" Hook asked, once again lost.

"She took a sleeping curse. Gold can't wake her because she doesn't love him. Her father refused to so Gold killed him and brought Sarah, her nursemaid, here to wake her. Unfortunately, it seems Belle doesn't actually remember Sarah since she was only a baby and therefore Sarah can't wake her."

Hook just stared at Regina as she explained. "Okay then…so how do we wake her?"

"I haven't figured it out yet. I need to do some research. Maybe talk to Mal," Regina answered.

Mary Margaret was still trying to quiet Neal.

"So why do I have to meet Zelena?" Emma asked.

"Gold is being Gold and I don't trust the stranger, so Zelena has them at the jail waiting for you to interrogate them," Regina said.

Henry stomped down the stairs. "If you're going to force me to stay here, can you at least shut up the baby?"

Emma's eyes widened in surprise. Snow bounced Neal. The men stood silent waiting. Regina whipped around to face her son.

"Upstairs. Now." Regina hissed, the low volume of her voice much scarier than it would have been if she yelled. "And don't even think about coming down."

Henry turned and did as he was told.

"I…he's never talked to me like that before," Emma stuttered. Hook gently rubbed her back.

"It's alright, love. He's a teenager."

"It is not alright. I'm so sorry, Snow," Regina apologized.

She turned to Emma. Whatever this was with Henry had gone on long enough. "Would you like to do this together?" Regina asked.

Emma frowned. She didn't really. She didn't want to yell at Henry. She didn't want to be the bad guy. She'd had a little experience during their year in New York, but for the most part Henry was just a good kid that didn't need a lot of discipline. But maybe they should present a united front? Emma shrugged. "Do you want to?"

"I think we need to be on the same team, Emma," Regina said slowly.

"Oh? So now this is my fault?" Emma said getting defensive.

Regina shut her eyes in exasperation. "It's no one's fault. Henry's angry. Things are out of his control and he doesn't know how to handle it. But this can't continue. We need to deal with it," Regina said.

"I can go to the station and help Zelena if you want to stay here, Emma." David volunteered.

"No." Emma grabbed her coat. "I'm coming. I don't know who thought it was a good idea to trust one of the bad guys to watch the other bad guys," she looked pointedly at Regina.

"She's not bad. And she's the only one on our side with any magic other than those blasted fairies so make nice," Regina said.

"I'll back your play with Henry," Emma said as she walked out the door.

Why did she feel like she was losing her son? Why did Regina always make her feel like such a failure as a parent? She was the savior. She made the right choices. She saved people. She was a good mom, why did she always feel inadequate?

Regina watched the door slam. "Well, that went well."

"Give her time. She's working on her own anger issues," Hook said.

"Poor Henry. Between the two of us, there's no way that boy would have learned healthy ways to deal with anger," Regina quipped.

Having laid Belle down, Robin had been inching toward Regina throughout the discussion. He put an arm around her and pulled her into his side giving her a gentle kiss on the forehead.

"I think you've come a long way. No one's on fire."

Regina laughed lightly. His arm around her had such a calming effect. She looked to the remaining group. "We should split up to research this situation," she gestured to Belle. "I'll talk to Mal, but maybe some of you could check the library in the meantime? Whoever isn't staying with the children?"

Snow nodded. "We'll discuss it while you talk to your son."

Regina nodded and took a deep breath bracing herself for the discussion with her angry teen.

* * *

The drive to the station had been silent. David was never as good as Snow at talking to their daughter when she was upset. She just closed off and he didn't know how to reach her. David felt like the anger was smothering everyone. Emma was angry, Henry was angry, Robin was angry and he was sure at least two of the people they were about to meet were angry. Clearly ridding people of magic wasn't the answer to the many problems plaguing the town. It seemed like it was a never-ending onslaught. But this…this felt different somehow. Like there was a showdown looming in the future. He sighed as he followed Emma into the station.

Zelena was seated on David's desk watching the two men locked behind bars.

"I thought you were never coming. Where's your heroic sense of urgency?" Zelena asked, not bothering to turn around.

"Ah, the Savior's arrived. Let the fun begin." Gold muttered.

"Why don't you save us all a lot of time and just tell us what you did?" Emma suggested.

"Ah, but where's the fun in that?" Gold asked.

David approached the bars and looked at Hyde.

"Who are you?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Hyde answered.

"Who is he Gold?"

"I don't know why you would assume I know. I'm just as surprised by his presence here as you are."

Emma rolled her eyes. This was going to be a long day.

* * *

Regina stood at the top of the stairs facing the bed Henry was sprawled out on. He had ear buds in. She sighed. _Good job, enforcing the no i-pod, Emma._ She walked to the bed and held out her hand to Henry. She waited for him to notice her. After a moment Henry had the sense of being watched and jumped a little when he turned to see a hand in front of his face. He sighed and pulled out the ear buds and put the i-pod in Regina's hand.

"Just because you're staying with Emma doesn't mean you don't have to follow the rules of your punishment." Regina stated.

"Your house your rules, right? I'm not at your house." Henry said.

"Well, that can be easily remedied," Regina snapped back. This wasn't helping. She needed to stay calm. She slowly placed the i-pod on the nightstand. She scanned the room, and seeing a chair in the corner she walked over slowly and picked it up moving it beside the bed. She sat down in the chair and faced Henry. "Sit up. We're going to have another chat."

Henry rolled his eyes, but sat up on the bed.

"I suppose this is what they refer to as teenage rebellion? I've been a bit preoccupied and haven't been keeping up on all my parenting magazines," Regina said sarcastically. Henry crossed his arms. "Okay. First of all, your actions have been completely out of line. You do not speak to anyone the way you yelled at your grandma tonight. Do you understand me? I will not tolerate it."

"Whatever."

"No. Not 'whatever.' Lose the attitude. I understand you are going through a lot right now. I understand that you're angry, but the way you've been handling it is not acceptable. And it's not going to help." She took a deep breath and softened her voice. "I know what it's like to be overwhelmed with anger. To feel completely out of control. But what you're doing isn't going to help. It's only going to hurt you and the people who care about you."

"I'm not you."

"I know, Henry. You are a much better person than I am. You believe in happy endings. You see the good in everyone. You believe in people. You are such a loving, caring, responsible young man. You're not my little boy anymore. But you're not an adult yet either. I know it's a hard place to be. Especially in the world you live in. I know it's scary to feel like you can't fix anything, but-"

"I can fix it. You just won't let me." Henry interrupted.

"Henry, taking away magic isn't going to fix things. People outside of Storybrooke have to deal with pain and evil and bad things too." Regina said with a bit of annoyance and exasperation seeping into her voice.

She searched Henry's face. Was any of this getting through? How did she convince him to let go of the anger? To go back to believing that they could get through anything as a family? To be her innocent little boy again?

"Do you want to talk about what you're angry about?" She asked gently.

"I'm angry that Snow hid the one thing that can end magic. I'm angry that you're ruining everything."

Regina frowned. What was _she_ ruining? She didn't have magic. She wasn't giving in to evil. She wasn't causing bad things to happen.

"Is this about Emma and the portal?" Regina asked.

Henry sat in silence. Regina got out of the chair and climbed onto the bed, pulling Henry into her arms as she did. She hugged him tightly. And swallowed the wave of pain that shot through her ribs. He struggled in her arms for a minute, but she just held him and kissed the top of his head. "It's going to be okay, Henry. I don't know how, but we're going to fix this. We'll wake Belle up and get magic back. Hades is gone. Hook's back. Robin's alive. Everything is going to be okay." She felt something wet on her shoulder and was suddenly aware of Henry's body shaking slightly against hers. "Shush. I know."

"I was so scared. I didn't think Emma was going to come back. I thought you wanted her gone. I thought you were going to go back to being evil."

Regina felt tears prick at her eyes. "I know. It's okay. I love you more than anything in the world, Henry. I will do anything for you. I know how much Emma means to you. I will always do everything I can to keep her safe for you."

"I was scared for you too. When you were in the hospital. And the machine started beeping."

"I know, baby. It's okay. You're not going to get rid of me that easily."

"I'm sorry I said you weren't my mom. I love you."

"I know, Henry. And no matter what you say or do I will always love you."

Henry pulled back and wiped his eyes.

"But," Regina continued. "That doesn't mean you're off the hook. You are still grounded."

"I know."

"How about we make a deal?"

"I thought you hated deals."

Regina smiled. "Only with Gold. I'm happy to make a deal with you."

Henry grinned. "Okay."

"Emma and I will let you be more involved in whatever we're doing to save the town, but you have to start acting like a young man and not a bratty teenager."

"Hey!"

Regina raised her eyebrow.

"Okay, maybe I have been a bit bratty. Alright it's a deal."

"And no more talk of using this magic destroying weapon you've found." Regina said.

"But-"

"Henry, I need you to trust me on this one. It's not the answer."

"Fine."

Regina nodded. "Alright. Now you may come back downstairs, but I expect you to apologize to everyone you've been disrespectful to, understood?"

Henry nodded.

"I'm sorry I said mean things to you and I'm sorry I thought you were going to be evil again."

"I forgive you. I'm sorry I made you feel like I didn't care about Emma."

Henry grinned. "It's okay. Can I help find a way to break Belle's sleeping curse?"

Regina nodded. "Let's go."

* * *

Neal was on a blanket spread out on the floor. He was on his tummy. Regina smiled. She could remember those days with Henry. Henry hated "tummy time." She glanced at her son who was now in the kitchen getting a glass of water after having made his apologies to Hook, Snow, and Robin. Snow shook a rattle in front of Neal trying to distract him from the fact he was on his tummy.

"Regina, maybe you shouldn't go alone. You don't have your magic." Snow said.

"I don't think it's going to put Mal in a helpful mood to bring you along, dear," Regina shot back.

"I'll go with you," Robin suggested.

"You need to get back to your children. The men will be worried that we didn't come back."

"Regina," Snow started again.

"I'm perfectly capable of walking around town without my magic," Regina said in frustration. She glanced over at Belle. How many lives was Gold going to ruin with his games and manipulation. She frowned. How many had she ruined?

"I just think it might be a little dangerous to be out without any way to protect yourself. Not all of Storybrooke has forgiven the Evil Queen," Snow argued.

Regina glared at her. "I'm well aware. I can take care of myself."

And with that she walked out before anyone could stop her.


	15. Chapter 15

Maleficent's home sat at the top of a hill. The walls on the top level were almost all windows which opened easily. Regina smiled. The design was perfect for Mal. She could enter the door in human form and leave via the windows in dragon form. Mal must have designed it herself when Gold brought her back.

Unfortunately, in typical Maleficent style, the house was isolated. There wasn't a driveway leading up to the house so Regina was forced to climb the hill in her heels. She rolled her eyes. Well, a little built in work-out session wouldn't hurt. Once things settled down, she planned to officially ask Robin to stay at the mansion. She'd thought he would just assume he was welcome, but clearly she needed to officially ask him. She couldn't wait to have the large mansion filled with her family again. With Henry staying with Emma again, the house felt much too big for Regina.

She was slightly winded when she reached the top, which was really quite pathetic. It's not like she'd been running. She definitely needed to start working out again. She raised her hand to knock on the door, but it flung open on it's own before she could.

"I was wondering when you'd get around to thanking me," Mal's voice called out. "Come on in. I'm just having a drink."

Regina stepped inside and walked back until she found Mal in the sitting room with a drink.

"Would you like something?" Mal offered.

Regina shook her head. "As much as I would, I need to be alert."

"Is Gold still after you?

"Well, Belle's not awake and I still have the crystal, so most likely. But he's currently locked up with Emma and Zelena guarding him, so he's not an immediate threat."

Mal frowned. "It sounds like things are under control. Relax a little."

"I'm not here simply to offer my thanks. Although, I do want to thank you. I wouldn't be here without your help."

Mal waved her hand dismissively. "You know I can't stand Gold. Dropping him in the ocean was quite enjoyable." She frowned and moved closer to Regina. "Something's off with you. Are you feeling alright?"

"You can't sense it, then?" Regina asked.

"Your magic?" Mal asked.

Regina nodded.

"No. What's wrong with it?"

Her eyes moved over Regina searching for the magic restricting bracelet.

"I'm not sure. Henry decided to get rid of magic and found some object that apparently takes it away. I still have an odd sense of it though. Like when you're about to get a migraine. It's there, but it's not," Regina said.

"He found the cup?" Mal asked in surprise.

"You've heard of it?" Regina asked.

Mal nodded. "I thought it was just a myth, but there were tales of a chalice that was the balance to the Grail. One gave magic, the other took it. Checks and balances and all that."

Regina wanted to continue discussing that. She missed her magic. She felt vulnerable, but that wasn't why she was here. First things first.

"That's not the reason I came, but if you're willing, we could use your help in figuring that out as well."

"We?" Mal said raising an eyebrow. "Still tight with the heroes?"

"Let's focus on why I'm here. Belle is under a sleeping curse and Gold is trying to wake her. That's why he's after the crystal. It will apparently give him some extra power source he needs or something. I don't really know the details, I just know he needs it. And unfortunately, he killed Belle's father, so we're really out of options for waking her with the 'happy ever after' kiss."

Mal smirked. "So you want to know if I have any other ways of breaking a sleeping curse."

"Well, you are the resident expert." Regina said.

"Yes, I suppose I am," she said. She twirled her finger around the rim of her drink and just stared at her finger moving around the glass.

Regina watched. As Mal's finger began to circle the rim a fifth time, Regina snapped. "Well do you have a way or not?"

Mal looked up smiling. "You never were good at being kept waiting. Impatient as ever my little Queen."

Regina started to get up.

"Sit down, little one. Of course I have a way to break it. There's an antidote. Do you think I wanted to get stuck in that awful Netherworld?"

"No, I didn't think you would."

"And you know how I like to numb painful feelings. So I had to make sure there would be no accidental deep sleeps for me."

"What do I need to make the antidote?" Regina asked.

"What's your rush, Regina? Relax. Have a drink. I've missed my _friend_ ," Mal said. "And you look like you could use a friend. Are you sure those heroes are really on your side? You're looking a little worse for the wear."

"Mal, please as much as I'd love to get drunk and trash the Charmings I need to wake Belle and get my magic back."

"Oh yes. You're magic-less. What does that feel like?"

Regina glared at her.

"Someone's a little testy." She waved her hand and paper and pen appeared. She began writing quickly. Regina watched trying to read what she was writing, but it was impossible to read upside down. "Here you go." Mal handed Regina the paper. "I'll think about helping with your little magic problem, but I really don't think I can be trusted in the same room as that precious little Snow White and her idiot muscle man."

Muscle-man? David was definitely not strong enough to get that title, but Regina had better things to do that squabble over nicknames. She read through the list of ingredients. She had them all in her vault. She could do this. She wouldn't even need her magic for it.

"Thank you, Mal."

* * *

Hyde sat in the cell with Gold. He needed a plan. And quickly before that stupid doctor came back and forced the injection on him. Maybe if he hid it. But Rumplestiltskin was watching him too carefully. He couldn't let the Dark One know what he had. He glanced outside the bars. Rumplestiltkin's attention seemed to be on that blonde woman who kept asking him the same questions over and over. Now was his chance. He'd hide it in case the doctor came back. He slid the syringe under the thin pad which he could only assume was supposed to serve as a mattress.

"What are you doing?"

He looked up. The witch was looking at him. He held up his hands. "I was just checking out the sleeping accommodations," he said.

Zelena turned back to Emma and David.

"Maybe we should try questioning him for a while since we aren't getting anywhere with Gold. Unless you're ready to try my methods of interrogation?" she suggested.

"We're not torturing them, Zelena."

Zelena shrugged. "Have it your way."

* * *

Henry had been helping Mary Margaret with Neal while she made dinner. But he was getting tired of waiting around. Why weren't either of his mom's home yet? He looked at Belle who was still lying peacefully on the couch.

"Do you want me to take him for a while, lad?" Hook offered.

Henry turned to Hook in surprise. He'd forgotten Hook was still here. Was he going to stay here with Emma now? Henry wasn't sure how he felt about that.

"Um. Okay." Henry shrugged and handed Neal to Hook.

"Henry, would you mind setting the table?" Snow asked.

"Is it just us?" Henry asked as he moved to the kitchen.

"I don't know. Why don't you text your mothers and see if they're coming back?"

"I'm not supposed to use my phone."

"Oh. That's right." Snow moved away from the stove. "Here, stir this for me. I'll call them."

As Mary Margaret picked up the phone, there was a knock at the door. She continued dialing as she went to open the door.

"Hi Emma, I was just calling to see if you were going to make it home for dinner. We're about ready to eat. I'll save some for you if you're not home." She ended the call as she opened the door. Regina raised her eyebrow at Mary Margaret.

"Sorry, Regina. Come in."

"I'm not staying. I just wanted to stop by and see if Emma had any information on the stranger," she said as she scanned the room, "but I see that she's not here."

"No. I just called her, but she didn't pick up. They must still be talking. You don't think they're in trouble do you?" Snow asked.

"No. Zelena's there. Gold doesn't have any magic. I'm sure he's just being difficult."

"Don't you want to stay for some dinner, love? Henry was just setting the table," Hook invited.

"I should go before it gets too late."

"Where are you going?" Henry asked.

Regina turned to him and hesitated. Henry hated magic. He wasn't going to approve. Regina wasn't sure she could take his rejection again. She'd been feeling rejected a bit too much lately. She shook it off. She was doing this to help Belle. There was nothing evil about the magic she was going to use.

"I need to get some things from my vault," Regina said.

"For what?" Henry asked. He wondered if she was going to try to get her magic back. Like after the curse broke.

"You look like you could use some dinner first, love." Hook said.

"I'd rather just get this taken care of."

"Can I come with you?" Henry asked.

Regina was confused. Did he want to keep an eye on her? Did Mary Margaret still have the chalice? She frowned. She shouldn't be thinking the worst of Henry. "You want to come with me to the vault?"

Henry nodded. "You said you'd let me be more involved."

She had said that. "I…alright. But you don't touch anything without asking me," she turned to Mary Margaret. "I'll be back. Mal thinks she has a way for us to wake Belle, but I need to get the ingredients and it might take a little time to make the potion."

"Be careful, Regina. You don't have your magic if anything goes wrong," Mary Margaret warned.

Regina nodded. "Come on, Henry, let's go."

* * *

Robin had worked with Roland on his archery while the baby was sleeping and now Roland was taking a nap, so Robin was enjoying his time with his little girl.

"You are so precious, little one." The baby cooed and smiled. "John!" Robin called excited. "Quick!"

John hurried over. "What's wrong, Robin?"

"She's smiling at me!"

John laughed. "She's probably just got gas."

Robin frowned. "She's definitely smiling at her Papa." He grinned as he looked back down at her.

"Did you and the Queen work things out?" John asked.

Robin looked up. "Yes, I think so. I mean, there's still plenty to figure out, but I think we're going to be okay."

John smiled. "Good. 'Cause you're right nasty when things aren't good between the two of you."

"She's such a good mother. Roland is enamored with her. And she's done a wonderful job with Henry."

John nodded. "She's oddly nurturing for an evil queen."

"John."

"Right. Reformed evil queen."

"I'd really prefer you stop using the word evil all together."

"Can't change the past, my friend." John said.

"Maybe not, but you can't live there either."

The baby started to fuss. "I better get her bottle ready." Robin said as he walked away.

* * *

The drive to the vault had been pretty quiet. Regina thought something might be bothering Henry still, but she was somewhat afraid to ask. He was back to being his old self. Her sweet little boy. He wanted to help her. She just wanted to enjoy that for a few minutes before it was all shattered again.

Henry followed her into the vault. She pulled out the piece of paper Maleficent had given her and began searching through her shelves for the items. Henry just stood and watched.

"How are you going to give Belle a potion if she's sleeping?" Henry asked.

"We'll put it on her tongue. She's still breathing, so she'll swallow it eventually." Regina said as she pulled a half empty bottle from a shelf.

Henry watched in silence for a few minutes. When Regina began pouring the items into a small bowl, he broke the silence again. "Can you even make a potion if you don't have magic?"

Regina stopped what she was doing. She couldn't get the amounts right while she was talking to Henry.

"Some potions. Some potions require only mixing ingredients. Others take a bit of magic in the mix." She turned back to her measuring.

"Do you think this will work?"

"I hope so."

"Do you think Emma and Hook are going to start living together? Do you think I'll have to call him dad?"

Regina stopped again. That was out of left field. "I…Henry, let me finish this potion. That's not the kind of question I can answer while I'm concentrating on this."

He nodded and stood watching in silence. Regina bit her lip. Great. She'd got him to quit asking questions, but she still couldn't concentrate. She looked at the list again and forced herself to focus. She poured in the last few ingredients.

"That smells awful. Good thing Belle's asleep so she won't have a choice whether of not to take it. No one in their right mind would put something that smells so bad into their mouth." Henry said.

Regina smiled. "Alright this has to sit for a few minutes to make sure one of the ingredients dissolves completely. Why don't you sit down?" She leaned back against the table and motioned to Henry to sit next to her.

He carefully jumped onto the table with such force it shook some of the bottles Regina had left there.

"Oops. Sorry."

"That's okay, sweetheart. You like Hoo" she stopped and forced "Killian, right?"

"Yeah, I guess. I mean, he's not my dad, but he's okay, now that he's not trying to hurt us."

"No one is going to make you call him 'Dad,' Henry. You know Emma wouldn't force you."

Henry shrugged. "I know…I guess, I'm just worried if he starts living with us maybe she'll expect me to want to call him 'dad.' Or be disappointed if I don't see him that way."

Regina nodded. "I think everyone involved wants to make sure you're happy. You just have to tell us what you're feeling."

"I don't want Hook or Robin to be my dad. I've always wanted a dad, but just because mine died doesn't mean anyone will replace him. They don't get the right to be my dad just because they want to hook up with my mom's."

Regina blinked. "Henry. Number one, I don't ever want to hear you talk like that again. Number two, Hook and Robin care about Emma and I. And they care about you. It has nothing to do with them wanting a _physical_ relationship with us."

"I'm not a little kid anymore. I know how guys think."

"Oh really? Well maybe you aren't mature enough to be spending time with Violet then," Regina said.

Henry jumped off the table and moved away from Regina. "Fine."

Regina sighed. She needed to learn to control her temper. "Henry-"

"No. I'm done talking. I shouldn't have even come."

Regina shut her eyes. All that time trying to get Henry to open up instead of bottling things up and she'd ruined it. Great. Good work, Regina. She pushed away from the table and picked up the potion.

"The potion is ready. Let's go." Regina said.

"Fine."

"Fine."

* * *

Zelena narrowed her eyes. "This one's hiding something. Gold wants the crystal for who knows why, and he wants Belle awake. We're wasting our time with him. There's nothing of importance to learn. But this one." She approached the bars and fixed her gaze on Hyde. "This one is hiding something."

Emma stared at the man. "What did you say his name was?"

"Hyde. He said his name was Hyde." Zelena said. "What's the rest of your name?" She glared at him.

"It doesn't matter. I know who he is. And what he's hiding," Emma said.

"What?" David asked in surprise. "Who is he?"

"This world calls him Mr. Hyde. Of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," Emma explained.

David frowned. "I don't know that story."

"Split personality of sorts. Dr. Jekyll is kind, Mr. Hyde is his dark side."

"So that's what he's hiding? That he's the evil side?" David asked.

"No." Emma approached the cell. "Where is it?"

"I'm afraid I don't know what you're referring to," Hyde said.

"Yes, you do. You brought the serum, didn't you? Hand it over."

Hyde stared at her with a blank expression. How did she know about that? He didn't really want the doctor to find it, but he wasn't sure he could trust this woman to dispose of it.

"I'm sorry, but I don't. Feel free to search me for whatever it is you think I have. But you'll have to let me out from behind these bars to do that."

Emma grabbed the keys and headed to the bars.

"Wait. He's strong. Let me put him in restraints." Zelena said.

She waved her hand and Hyde was cuffed. Emma flung open the cell door and yanked him out. She patted him down and searched his pockets while the others watched.

"I told you I didn't have anything." Hyde said smugly when Emma took a step back in defeat.

"He was doing something with the bed. We should check that." Zelena said.

"You keep Gold in check and I'll search the bed." David said.

"I hardly think you can call that thing a bed," Hyde said.

"Agreed." Zelena affirmed.

David lifted the mattress and found the syringe. He held it up. "Is this it?"

Emma smiled in triumph. "It is!"

"Wait. You don't know what that does. You need to be careful with it." Hyde said.

"Oh, I know exactly what is does," Emma said taking it from her father. "Don't worry. I'll keep it safe."

"What is it?" Zelena asked.

"Let's get him back in the cell." David said. He took Hyde's arm and pushed him back into the cell. "Can you trap them with magic or something?" David asked. Zelena nodded and waved her hand. "Good. Now let's go get some dinner. You can explain what that is when we get home."

"You're just going to leave us here? We haven't broken any laws." Gold said.

"Well, technically he hasn't. But you, you're another story. Attacking people, forcing them to do things against their will. And you have a number of crimes from your past we could use if necessary. I do believe you tried to kill my sister just the other day." Zelena said. "Ta-ta for now my pet."

She waved her hand and David and Emma were swooped up with her in a cloud of green smoke.

* * *

The car ride home had been silent. Henry was sulking and Regina was trying to think of ways to smooth things over. Why did she always let her temper get the best of her. Yes, Henry had been out of line, but his feelings about having his father replaced were justified and she should have been more patient.

She stopped the car and turned to face Henry. "Henry,"

The door slammed as Henry got out of the car and then headed to the loft without looking back. Regina sighed. Teenagers. She definitely was not ready for this.

Inside the apartment, Mary Margaret turned and looked surprised when Henry came in alone. "Henry? Where's your mom?"

"She's coming." He said. "Is there any dinner left? I'm hungry."

Mary Margaret nodded and began fixing him a plate. Hook was still sitting at the table, having finished his dinner but having nothing better to do.

Sarah was rocking Neal who was almost asleep.

Regina knocked lightly on the door, which swung open easily. She sighed; Henry must have left it open.

"I have the potion. Shall we try it now?" Regina asked walking straight towards Belle.

Mary Margaret frowned at the way she and Henry seemed to be avoiding looking at each other. Regina turned back to Mary Margaret.

"Um, okay. Yeah. Let's try it." Mary Margaret put down the dish she was washing and followed Regina to the couch. Henry had been trying to ignore his mother, but he wanted to know if it would work so he followed Mary Margaret over to the couch.

"I need a spoon." Regina said.

Hook picked up one from the table and handed it to Regina.

"Thank you." She poured the liquid onto the spoon. "We should sit her up so she doesn't choke."

Hook carefully lifted Belle into a sitting position and Snow stuffed some pillow cushions behind her to hold her up.

Sarah approached still holding Neal. The little boy had taken a liking to the nursemaid.

Regina nudged Belle's lips open with the spoon and tipped the liquid in her mouth.

"Should we plug her noise or something?" Hook asked.

Regina raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"I don't know. To keep if from coming back out. Like that," he nodded to Belle who now had liquid dripping from her chin.

"Well, that's messy." Regina said. "But I gave her more than she needs. So it should be fine. We just need to-" She stopped as a whimper came from Belle. Her eyes fluttered and slowly opened.

"What? Where?"

"You're at David and Mary Margaret's loft. You're safe. We made it back from the underworld." Regina said quickly.

"The baby?"

"The what?" Hook asked.

"The baby. She's pregnant." Zelena said as they appeared in the living room. "Good job, little sis. Maybe you're not as bad with potions as Rumple said."

"I don't want to see him." Belle announced.

"Good. He's locked up." Zelena said.

Regina looked around. She was beginning to feel a little claustrophobic with all the people. And she was starving. She just wanted to have a nice peaceful dinner with Robin. Maybe a little cuddling by the fire. Her lips curled into an involuntary smile at the thought.

"I bet you are all starving. Come sit down. There's plenty of food for everyone." Mary Margaret offered.

Regina stood up. "I'm just going to go. Henry, did you want to stay here tonight, or do you want to come home?"

Henry looked at Emma and Hook and then back to Regina. He hated both his options. "I'll come with you."

"But Henry, I just got back." Emma said.

"Why don't you have dinner with Emma and text me when you're ready to come home?" Regina suggested.

Henry nodded.

Regina said her goodbyes quickly. She needed a break from everyone. She was going to have to deal with them enough tomorrow when they had to figure out how to restore Emma and her magic. But right now, she was just going to get some dinner at Granny's and go see Robin. She'd been planning to invite him and Roland to stay with her, but now that Henry was coming home tonight that would have to wait. She didn't think he'd be pleased with the idea if his reaction to Hook this afternoon was any indication.


	16. Chapter 16

Regina could hear laughter as she walked toward the camp. She hadn't called Robin to tell him she was bringing dinner and now she was worried they might have already eaten.

Will spotted her first. "Your majesty," he greeted her.

She smiled. It didn't matter how many times she told them to stop calling her that, most of the men still did.

"Will," she nodded to him. "Is Robin?"

Will pointed to Robin's tent. "Go on, Roland was just waking up from his nap. He'll be pleased to see you."

Regina made her way to the tent. "Knock knock." She said announcing her presence.

"Regina!" Roland squealed.

"Oh, now you're cheerful." Robin said as he pulled back the tent flap. "Come on in, love, I was just changing the little one's diaper."

Regina stepped inside. "I brought dinner from Granny's. If you're hungry."

Roland reached for the bag. "Is it hamburgers?"

Regina smiled. "I brought a hamburger for you. And a cheeseburger for your dad."

"And what about for the beautiful delivery girl?"

Regina raised her eyebrow and turned her head. "I don't think I see any girls here besides that infant you're holding."

"You're silly, Regina. You're a girl," Roland said.

"I'm a lady."

"Ah yes, my queen." Robin grinned and turned to kiss her on the forehead while making sure his hand kept his daughter from moving off the mattress he called a bed.

"I got a salad for myself. But I may have swiped a few fries on the way here," she admitted.

"Do you want to eat with the men?" Robin asked.

"Whatever you'd like." Regina said agreeably.

Robin picked up his daughter and turned to face Regina. Roland had already managed to work his way into her arms.

"What do you think Roland, shall we share Regina with the rest of the camp or keep her to ourselves?" Robin asked.

"My Regina." Roland said.

Regina smiled. "My little knight." She kissed him lightly on the head. "I missed you today. What did you and your papa do?"

She stepped out of the tent and started walking toward the men who were starting to gather around the fire.

"Papa helped me practice with the arrows so I can shoot good like him."

"Roland, I thought we said that was going to be a secret." Robin said.

"Not from Regina, papa. We don't have to keep secrets from Regina."

Regina smiled knowing that she was exactly who Robin wanted to keep that secret from. He knew she thought Roland was too young to be doing archery.

"Hmm. That's right. No secrets from Regina." She agreed.

They sat around the fire with the men laughing and joking with them and Regina felt more relaxed than she had in weeks. Between the underworld and the portal and all the events since their return…actually even before that with Camelot. She just needed a break. She just wanted to enjoy her new little family.

Robin watched Regina. She seemed relaxed. The most relaxed he'd seen her since before he left with "Marian." Actually probably since before "Marian" had returned. But even so, she looked tired now. And thinner. Come to think of it, not only had she only brought herself a salad, she hadn't even eaten most of it. She'd picked at it and then fed some of it to Roland and offered him the rest. Which he'd taken…but now that he thought about it, he should have made her eat it.

"Robin?" Regina asked quietly. "Is something bothering you?"

"What? No."

"You're staring."

"Oh. Sorry."

John approached them. "Hey little man, do you want to roast some marshmallows with me? Will and I were thinking smores sounded good, but you're the best at roasting marshmallows." John winked at Robin over Roland's head.

"Yay! Smores! Can I papa?"

Robin nodded. Roland jumped down off Regina's lap, where he had positioned himself refusing to leave all night. Robin was grateful to his friend. He knew John was distracting Roland so Robin could have some adult time with Regina. Roland grabbed John's hand and happily went off with him.

Robin adjusted the baby in his arms. He'd forgotten how tiring it is holding a baby all day. She was so tiny, but his arms were tired.

Regina looked at him and the baby. Robin had been holding her all evening. He must need a break. She hesitantly asked, "May I hold her?"

Robin heard the vulnerability in her voice. She was afraid he'd tell her no. How had he let her feel like he didn't want her around his daughter? He didn't answer, just placed the little girl in Regina's arms. Her face lit up as his daughter curled her hand around Regina's pinkie finger. Robin moved closer and pulled Regina back into his arms. "My two beautiful girls." He kissed her head.

She relaxed back into him. It felt so good having his arms around her. She felt safe and happy.

"You and Zelena really need to figure out a name for this one. You can't just go around calling her your daughter or little one all the time. Or in Zelena's case 'pea.'"

Robin laughed. "Yes, I'm not very fond of 'pea' as her nickname. I just don't know how Zelena and I are ever going to be able to be in the same room long enough to choose a name."

"Maybe you should just think of some and she can do the same and then you can exchange lists?" Regina suggested. The little girl was quickly falling asleep in Regina's arms.

"That's a good idea, love." Robin said.

"We woke Belle up." Regina shared.

"That's wonderful news."

Regina nodded. "Yes. I know nothing I can do erases the fact that I kept her prisoner, but I feel like at least now I've done something to make amends."

"I think she's forgiven you, love."

Regina nodded. "But now, I think I can forgive myself. It's not taking away what I did, but at least now I've done something to try to make it right."

They sat in a comfortable silence.

"I was thinking maybe I should start making amends to the other people I hurt during my reign as evil queen. I think maybe changing isn't enough. Saying I'm sorry doesn't make up for anything I did."

"Well, you did save everyone a few times since then."

"I know, but that wasn't really making amends to those I hurt. It was more about keeping Henry and the people I care about safe."

Robin nodded. How could he not love this woman?

"Anyway, I just thought I should try. It felt kind of good evening things out with Belle."

"I think that's a very nice idea, Regina. But maybe we should focus on getting you some sleep before you start this noble quest."

Regina laughed.

"What?" asked Robin.

"Noble quest. I once said that to Charming. I never thought the words would apply to me."

"Well, it's about time you start thinking that way. You're a hero now, Regina. If not to the town, always to me."

Regina smiled. "I don't deserve you, but I do love you," she said.

"You do deserve me. You deserve more than I can give you, but I will do my best. Here, I'll put her in her carrier."

Robin carefully moved his daughter to her carrier. He didn't like leaving her in the tent when he wasn't near. After putting her down, he pulled Regina to him and kissed her. "You are so good with children. Any child would be lucky to have you as their mother."

Regina could feel her eyes tearing. After what had happened with Henry today, she really needed to hear that. She pulled Robin into another kiss. She felt his arms tighten around her, holding her tightly to his body. They were still kissing and Regina was thinking she really wished she was asking them to come stay the night when Roland broke the moment.

"Papa! I want to give Regina a smore! I made one for her!" He said as he tugged at Robin's arm trying to pull his father away from Regina.

Regina grinned. "Mmm. That sounds delicious." She said as she pulled away from Robin. "But I'm not very hungry. Maybe I could just have a bite and you can give the rest to your papa."

Roland nodded and handed it to her. She had just taken a bite and was fussing over how wonderful it was and how Roland made the best marshmallows when her phone vibrated with a message in her pocket. She pulled the phone out and quietly looked at the message. Henry was ready to go home. She sighed.

"I need to go pick Henry up from the Charmings. So I'm going to have to say goodnight."

"No!" Roland said. "I want you to stay."

"I can't, honey. I'm Henry's mom and I need to take him home."

"Then I want you to be my mom too and take me home."

Regina froze. What was she supposed to say?

Robin stared at his son. Roland wanted to go home with the Queen instead of staying with him? He couldn't really blame him; he wanted to go home with the Queen too.

"You can't come with me tonight, Roland." Regina said slowly when Robin made no attempt to intervene. "I'll talk to your papa and maybe you can come have a sleepover a different night. But only if you're very good and go right to bed tonight for your papa."

"I'll be very good." He said.

"Alright, Roland. Give Regina a hug goodnight. We'll see her tomorrow."

Roland wrapped his arms tightly around Regina. She didn't want to let go anymore than he did. Henry had been affectionate and cuddly at this age too. She missed that. She slowly pulled away from Roland. "Goodnight, sweetheart." She planted a kiss on the top of his head and then stood to leave.

"Thank you for dinner, Regina." Robin said awkwardly.

Regina smiled. "You're not going to walk me to my car? What kind of gentleman are you?"

Robin smiled back. "I would be happy to escort milady to her car. Roland, go put on your nightclothes. I'll come tuck you in after I say goodnight to Regina."

Roland looked ready to argue, but then seemed to remember his promise and hurried off to the tent. Robin wrapped his arm around Regina's back holding her close to him as they walked to her car. Neither one spoke, they just enjoyed the moment.

When they reached the car, Regina moved away from Robin's arms. "Who knew thieves could be such good company?" She joked lightly trying to keep the mood light.

"Be careful, Regina. Just get Henry and go home. I don't like the idea of you walking around town with your magic to protect you."

"I can take care of myself. I'm not some damsel in distress."

"I know. But I can still worry. Be safe, my love," he said as he pulled her in for a goodnight kiss.

Regina's arguments flew from her mind when his lips hit hers. Oh, she missed him. When they finally broke apart, she felt a bit lightheaded, but for different reasons than earlier. "I will see you tomorrow."

* * *

Henry was in a better mood when Regina picked him up. He was at least talking to her again.

"What's going to happen to Sarah?" Henry asked.

"I don't know. I guess I hadn't really thought about it. Maybe she can stay with Belle for a little while?" Regina suggested as she watched the road.

"Where is Belle going to stay? She doesn't love grandpa anymore, right? So she can't live with him." Henry said.

"Where is she staying tonight?" Regina asked.

"I think Grandpa took her and Sarah to Granny's for tonight, but it's not like they can live there."

Regina frowned. She didn't think it would ever seem normal hearing Henry call Snow and Charming Grandma and Grandpa. And she was definitely never going to get used to hearing Gold referred to as Grandpa. What an odd family they'd become.

"I thought Grandpa and Belle had true love. If they really had true love how can she stop loving him?" Henry asked.

"I don't think she's stopped loving him. I don't think it's that simple. Zelena and Hades had true love. Zelena made his heart start again. But Hades could never put her first. He cared more about power. I think the same is true for Mr. Gold. He's never going to be able to give up the power." Regina suggested.

"But he did once. When he saved us from Peter Pan."

Regina thought about it. Well, that was true, but maybe coming back had changed him? But then he did have his heart "purified" and he still reverted. She shook her head. Of course Gold got to have all his darkness erased. He got a real second chance and then just threw it away.

"I don't know, Henry. But I do know that Belle has to consider her child now. So it's not simply about her and Mr. Gold. It may have taken me a little time to learn how to show it, but I know what it feels like to love your child. There is nothing I wouldn't do for you, Henry. To keep you safe. And happy. I'm sure Belle feels the same way. She's always been better at understanding love than I have. I'm sure she figured it out the moment she knew she was expecting."

Henry sat in deep in thought. Regina pulled the car into the driveway and put it in park.

"What's bothering you, Henry?" Regina asked turning toward him.

He turned to face her.

"Do you think Emma loves me the same as you do?"

Regina looked at Henry. How was she supposed to answer that?

"I think that everyone has different ways of showing their love, but I know Emma loves you and wants the same things for you as I do. She wants you to be safe and happy. And know how very loved you are." Regina said firmly.

"I love you too, mom."

Regina felt the tears coming to her eyes. She leaned over and hugged Henry. "I know you do, my little Prince." She kissed his forehead. "We should head inside."

Henry nodded and got out of the car. "I don't think I want to live with Hook and Emma. Can I stay with you and Robin instead?"

Regina abruptly stopped walking. Henry wanted to stay with her over Emma and Hook. Wait. He'd said Robin. "Robin isn't here Henry. It's just me and you. And you know this is always your home."

"I know Robin's not here. But that's just 'cause I threw a fit about Hook and Emma moving in. I know you wanted Robin to move in with you. You just haven't let him because of me."

Regina smiled as she started walking up the path again. Henry's intuitiveness always amazed her.

"Well, how about we talk it over, you and me, and then if we both agree I'll talk to Robin."

"Thanks, mom." Henry said.

Regina turned the key in the door and walked inside. "But first, I'm thinking of starting another operation and you know I'm terrible with names, so how about I make you hot chocolate and you can help me come up with a name."

Henry's eyes widen as he followed his mom into the kitchen. "Is it about Robin? Like Operation Mongoose?"

"No. This one's just about me." Regina said smiling.

* * *

Hook turned to Emma the second the door shut behind Regina and Henry.

"You were awfully hostile, love. Did I miss something?"

Emma sighed. "Henry just isn't himself. It's just putting me in a bad mood."

"It didn't seem like it was about Henry." Hook said.

Ever since he returned, he'd noticed it was like a switch was flipped every time the Queen entered the room. Emma would go from bantering and cuddling with him to snapping biting remarks. When Regina arrived to pick up Henry, Emma had been confrontational about Henry going. And then they'd argued about Gold. He could understand that. The man was always creating trouble, but Emma and Regina had been on good terms in the underworld. Something was going on. And he was having a hard time believing it was just about Regina pulling Emma out of the portal and away from him.

"Well it is. I don't like the teenage version of my son."

"Well, I wouldn't go around saying that. Henry's a sensitive lad, he'll think you're serious."

"I don't want to talk about this."

"Well something is certainly on your mind," Hook prompted. "Let me help."

Emma sighed and reached into her pocket. She pulled out the syringe she'd taken from Hyde.

"What is that?" Hook asked.

"A way to fix Regina."

"Fix her? I wasn't aware she was broken." Hook said.

Emma rolled her eyes. "This will split Regina and the Evil Queen. Then we can kill the Evil Queen and I can finally trust Regina."

Hook frowned. This sounded like an awful idea.

"You're going to kill her so you can trust her?"

"I'm not going to kill Regina. Just the Evil Queen. Then I don't have to worry about her snapping and going on a murderous rampage."

"You're worried about that now? I don't think Regina's given any indication that she isn't serious about continuing on the hero path." Hook argued.

Emma stood up and walked away from him. She paced for a few minutes. How could she explain it to make him understand it was the right thing to do?

"Look at Gold. He's lost himself to the darkness again. And endangered Belle and half the town in the process. What if Regina misses the darkness too? My son is choosing to stay with her over me. I can't tell him no, she did raise him for the first ten years of his life, but how can I trust that he will be safe with her when she could go evil at any second?"

"Regina would never harm Henry. You know that."

"Regina wouldn't, but the Evil Queen might." Emma argued.

"So what, your great plan is to what invite her over to tea and then stab her with a needle?"

"No. I was thinking a surprise attack would be better." Emma said.

"Do you hear yourself? You want to attack her and force some magic potion on her?" Hook said incredulously. "I'm no fan of the evil queen, but this plan of yours is crazy."

"I'd be doing it for her own good. She'll thank me when it's all over. Then she'll be free to be who she is instead of what her anger and magic turned her into." Emma said.

Hook stood up and moved toward Emma. He gently pulled her into his arms. "Do you remember when I asked you to just let me die in Camelot?"

Tears came to Emma's eyes as she nodded.

"And look what happened when you didn't listen. We both ended up dark and had to take a trip to the underworld to fix it."

"But it was the right thing to do. You're here. We're together. It worked." Emma said.

"Not that I'm not happy to be here, but you should have let me go, Emma. It wasn't your decision to make. And removing the evil Queen from Regina is also not your decision to make."

"Yes, it is. I'm in charge of keeping this town safe and this is the right thing to do."

Hook pulled away from Emma. "Maybe it's your fear talking right now, but this isn't right, Emma. You know it's not."

"You're wrong. This is the right thing to do. It's my responsibility. I'm supposed to be the Savior and bring back everyone's happy endings. Regina can't have a happy ending while the Evil Queen is still a part of her."

Hook stepped toward the door. "Maybe you should spend a little more time worrying about what impact the darkness had on you instead of worrying about Regina."

And with that he opened the door and left. Emma stared at the door for a moment before shifting her gaze down to the potion in her hands.

* * *

Gold was fuming. Without his magic he was definitely trapped here. How was he going to get his magic back if he couldn't get out of the stupid jail cell? And how was he going to wake his beloved Belle and their unborn child. He needed to get his baby. He turned to the man seated on the bench in the cell with him and did a double take. He was looking at what appeared to be a different man.

"Hello," the man said shyly.

Gold frowned. This must be the Dr. Jekyll Emma had mentioned. The scientist. He might prove useful. He just needed a little time to think of a plan to escape and retrieve his dagger and the Olympian crystal.


	17. Chapter 17

_**A/N: Thanks for continuing to read and support this story. Characters still aren't mine.** _

Regina woke up feeling more positive than she had in a long time. Things were better with Robin, Henry was back home, and she was excited by the prospect of her new operation. Operation Chameleon. She wasn't sure how she felt about the name, but Henry had picked it because he said she was changing her colors. And it was sort of poetic.

She rolled out of bed and pulled out one of her more casual outfits. A red dress. It wasn't really casual, but honestly, she didn't have a lot of casual options. This would have to do. At least it wasn't threatening. Or intimidating.

After fixing her make-up she headed downstairs and set to work making waffles. One of Henry's favorite breakfast foods. She wondered how he'd feel about her inviting Robin and Roland to breakfast. And the baby. Not that she could eat anything. Maybe she should invite Zelena too. She frowned and stopped herself just before she grasped her phone. No. This was going to be just her and Henry. Like old times.

When the food was ready, Regina went upstairs to get Henry. He was still sound asleep.

She smiled as she looked at him curled up in his bed. He was almost too tall for the bed now. She'd have to buy a new one. He was so grown up. She reached her hand toward his shoulder, but before she reached him, his phone started ringing. The Star Wars theme played loudly. Henry swung his arm at the phone trying to bat the noise away.

Regina grabbed the phone and saw Emma's name on the screen.

"Henry. Henry. You need to wake up. Emma's calling."

Henry just grunted.

Regina hit talk. "Emma, Henry is just waking up. Can I have him call you in a few minutes?" She paused and then frowned. "He hasn't eaten yet. Can't you come get him later? No. I understand. Okay. I'll make sure he's ready." She hit end on the phone.

"Henry. You have to get up now. Emma's coming by to pick you up. She's going to take you to school on her way to the station."

Henry sat up rubbing his eyes. "Can't you take me to school?"

"Emma said she wants to talk to you."

Henry rolled his eyes.

"If you hurry, you might have time for a couple waffles."

Henry's face lit up. "You made waffles?"

"I did." Regina turned and headed back downstairs smiling to herself. She could still make her son smile.

When Henry walked into the kitchen, he saw a plate full of waffles and all his favorite toppings. He sat down and began eating immediately.

"Is today the start of Operation Chameleon?" Henry asked.

Regina nodded.

"Who's first?"

"Well, I was thinking I'd start with trying to return the hearts I have. I'm just going to have to convince Zelena to help me since I can't do it without my magic."

Henry frowned. "I thought anyone could put a heart back in."

Regina nodded. "True," she looked down unable to meet Henry's eyes. "I have a lot though…so many I lost track of who they belong to. So to find the owner's I'm going to need a little magic."

"Oh. That makes sense." Henry nodded. The doorbell rang. Henry shoved the rest of the waffle in his mouth and grabbed his backpack and then turned back to Regina. "Just be careful, okay? Some people might be angry even though you're giving the heart back. You don't have your magic to protect you."

"I promise I'll be careful. Have a good day at school. I love you." Regina said as Henry headed toward the front door.

"Love you too!" He said as he left.

As the door shut, Regina sighed and picked up the phone.

* * *

Zelena stood in Regina's vault looking at the wall of heart-filled drawers.

"Don't you think this could wait? I mean, shouldn't we be focusing on getting your magic back?"

"I want to do this. I've waited too long already. I know what it feels like to have your heart missing. Even if they don't realize it, all these people are missing out on truly feeling things. I need to fix this."

Zelena nodded. "So how are we doing this?"

Regina shrugged. "Call them here?"

Zelena frowned. "That's the best idea you have?"

"What's your bright idea?" Regina asked.

"Maybe I can enchant them?"

"If you know an enchantment that will find their owners, go right ahead." Regina said.

"Fine. I don't know why you even made me come here if that's all you planned on doing. You don't need me for that. You can call them yourself. It's going to take forever of course. And I'm not sure calling them to your vault is the best way to break the news that you have their heart. But please, be my guest, little sis."

Regina frowned. Zelena was right on both accounts. She didn't really need her. And it probably wasn't a great idea to have everyone come here.

"Well, since you're here, why don't you make yourself useful and move the hearts to my house. Then I can call them to my house which is a least slightly more inviting than here."

Zelena nodded. "Okay. That is a marginally better plan. I'll do it, if you call Robin and ask him to bring my daughter over for a visit. I want to see the little pea again."

"I'll do that if you civilly discuss agreeing on a name."

"I'm already doing you one favor. You don't get another."

"It's not a favor. Your daughter is over a month old and she still has no name. You and Robin need to put your differences aside and give my poor little niece a name."

"Fine." Zelena waved her hand and all the boxes disappeared from the wall. "Shall we?" She waved her hand again and she and Regina disappeared.

Regina set the phone down and turned to her sister. "Robin said you can come by the camp. He was thinking about taking Roland to the park, so you can join them and play with your daughter. He's open to discussing a name with you."

"Thank you." Zelena said genuinely.

Regina nodded and looked at the stacks of boxes filled with hearts. She wasn't sure she was ready for this.

"You'll be fine." Zelena said encouragingly.

Regina smiled. "Thanks."

* * *

Emma grinned smugly as she walked up the path to the convent. This was the perfect plan. She'd give the serum to the Blue Fairy and let her decide what to do with it. Then Emma couldn't be held responsible. It was the right thing to do. The Blue Fairy was good. She would make the right decision about what to do in regards to the Evil Queen. Emma knocked on the door.

Tinker Bell opened the door.

"Oh. Hi, Tink…I… I didn't know you were staying here."

"Blue and I have come to an agreement. We're trying to leave the past in the past." Tinker Bell said.

"That's good." Emma said. "Is Mother Superior around?"

Tinker Bell nodded. "I'll let her know you're here. Come on in."

Tinker Bell frowned as she went to find Blue. Emma seemed awfully uncomfortable. She had a feeling whatever Emma was here about wasn't good.

* * *

A young man, maybe 19 years old stood on Regina's porch looking nervous. Regina had watched him walk up the sidewalk. She wasn't sure she was ready for this. Why did the first one have to be someone she had no memory of? How was she supposed to apologize when she couldn't even remember him? She had no idea what she'd done to him or why she'd taken his heart. She watched him fidget on the steps and took pity on him, flinging the door open. He took a nervous step back.

"Please, come in," she said.

"I, uh, I'm not sure why I'm here."

Regina nodded. "I know. Don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you. Come on in."

He stepped hesitantly inside.

"I think this would be easier if you have a seat," she said as she walked into the front room and motioned to the couch. She picked up the box from the table as she walked into the room. He sat down and she sat next to him. "I don't know that we've formally met. I'm Regina," she held out her hand to him.

"Uh, Nathan," he said.

"Nathan. Nice to meet you. I have something of yours that I'd like to return," she paused and met his eyes. "Do you know what that is?" he shook his head nervously. She motioned to the box in her hand. "I have your heart." His eyes got wide and he backed away from her. She raised her hand to stop him. "I just want to return it. I…" she stopped and swallowed nervously. "I know I did many unforgiveable things during my reign as the Evil Queen, but I want to be different. I want to be a better person. I don't expect you to forgive me, but I want to fix what I can." She looked down. "I don't know why I have your heart. I don't remember taking it. There are so many things I don't remember. But I am truly sorry for any pain I've caused you."

He starred at her, not moving, not speaking. She opened the box and gently removed the heart. He gasped a little as her hands wrapped around it. A strange sensation pulsed through his body. Like he could feel something he didn't know was missing.

"This is going to hurt for a minute, but it won't last." She took a deep breath and thrust her arm into his chest replacing the heart. He gasped loudly and she withdrew her hand. "Are you okay?"

He looked at her still in shock and then he began speaking. "You came to my village in the middle of the night with your knights. You said you'd kill us all if we didn't tell you where Snow was. Someone told you I'd seen her in the forest and you, you took my heart, you said I'd have no choice but to tell you. But I didn't know where she was. And you still wouldn't give my heart back. You said you'd take all our hearts until you found her. How many did you take? Hundreds? Thousands? What good did it do?" He asked.

"I took too many."

"You can't erase who you are by giving back a few hearts."

"I know."

He stood up and left without another word. Regina took a deep breath. This was going to take more than a day.

* * *

Zelena sat down next to Robin on the bench. Her sister was right, he definitely smelled like forest. Who would have thought anyone would find that scent appealing? She really didn't understand Regina's taste at all. But then again, she'd been the idiot to fall in love with the Lord of the Underworld, so maybe bad taste ran in the family.

"So, Regina is pretty insistent that we come up with a name for this little one," Robin said.

"I think she deserves an identity, don't you? I mean, how are we going to explain to her that she went the first months of her life with no name? It makes it seem like she doesn't even matter enough to warrant the time it takes to come up with a name," Zelena said.

Robin stared at her. That sounded like something Regina would say. He supposed the two sisters knew a little something about not feeling wanted or loved. Maybe Regina was right, he should cut Zelena some slack. Her mother had abandoned her and left her to fend for herself in another realm with an abusive father.

"I think by the time she's questioning it, she'll understand what a monumental task it was to get the two of us together long enough to have a conversation about it," Robin offered.

"Maybe we should come up with a better story to tell her about her origins," Zelena said looking guilty.

"Maybe we should cross that bridge another day. I think I'm going to need some more time before I can even think about that," Robin said honestly.

Zelena nodded. "I know what I did to you wasn't right, but maybe it's better if she doesn't have to grow up knowing all of the awful things her mother did."

"Maybe. Maybe it's not right to lie to her."

Zelena sighed. She had a feeling Robin would want to put all of her mistakes on display for her daughter. She wasn't really going to have a chance. The deck was already stacked against her.

She ran her finger across her little girl's cheek. She was so precious. So innocent. She didn't deserve this. Didn't deserve to have everyone judge her because of who her mother was.

Robin sighed. "Like I said, let's not talk about that today. She's not going to be asking any questions or needing any answers for a long time. Let's take things one step at a time. Do you have any ideas for a name?"

"I don't really know how you go about these things in this world. What's a normal name for a child in this world?"

Robin smiled. She was right. Most of their names were somewhat odd for this world.

"Maybe we should have asked Henry or Regina for some tips," Robin said.

"Oh, right! Henry did mention something about books of names. And something on that electronic contraption of his," Zelena said.

"David and Mary Margaret named Neal after someone. Maybe we could do that," Robin suggested.

"Certainly not my mother," Zelena said.

Robin laughed. "Well, though I've never met her, I don't think that would be an ideal choice. What about your adoptive mother?"

Zelena shook her head. "I don't think so. Your mother?"

Robin shook his head. "She died when I was young. I don't remember her," he paused. "It will probably be the same for Roland with Marian."

Zelena noticed the sadness that filled Robin's face. She knew she had the same expression when she thought of her childhood. It was a longing kind of sad. She'd had a mother, but not her real mother. She'd wanted Cora's love for so long. Just to know her mother. At least her little girl would grow up knowing her mother. Even if she did know the horrible things she'd done.

"What about Marian?" Zelena offered.

Robin turned in surprise. That was a very generous offer. But also a little odd. Zelena wanted to name their daughter after the woman she'd killed? But it did feel somehow right to honor Marian's memory. Especially since he'd thought Marian was the mother of his little girl. He opened his mouth to agree, but stopped.

Zelena frowned. She thought Robin would love that idea. And she was oddly okay with it. It felt right. Like she was somehow making amends to the woman she'd hurt.

"You don't like that idea?" Zelena asked.

Robin slowly shook his head. "It's not that. I kind of do like the idea, but I…I'm just…how do you think Regina will feel about it?" he asked.

Zelena pursed her lips pondering the idea. He was right. Regina was part of the equation too and she'd really hurt Regina enough. It did seem a little insensitive naming her lover's daughter after his dead wife. She looked at Robin. Maybe she could see some of what her sister loved about him. He was kind. And he clearly thought about Regina's feelings.

"What if we do something similar instead, so that it honors Marian, but doesn't strap the little one with someone else's shoes to fill?" Zelena suggested.

"Mary?" Robin suggested.

Zelena shook her head. "Too much like Mary Margaret. I'm not naming my daughter after Snow White."

Robin laughed. "Fair enough."

"Maria?" Zelena suggested.

Robin's brow furrowed. It wasn't awful, but it didn't quite seem right.

Zelena wracked her brain trying to think of more variations. She waved her hand and a book appeared. She quickly flipped through to the "M's" Her eye immediately jumped to a name. "Marilyn."

Robin grinned. It was perfect. Just like his perfect little angel. He leaned over to speak to his daughter in Zelena's arms.

"What do you think Marilyn? Do you like your name?"

The little girl cooed.

Zelena smiled. "I think we've got a winner."

* * *

"Stay away from me and my family," the woman hissed angrily and slapped Regina across the face before turning and storming out.

Regina lifted her hand to her cheek. She deserved that. She stared at the stack of hearts that remained on her office desk. It was almost time for Henry to get out of school. She hadn't asked Emma who was picking him up. Or where he was staying. That was enough for today. She didn't think she could face any more angry citizens today.

She picked up her phone to call Emma.

* * *

Emma was waiting for Henry when he stepped out of school. Why couldn't he take the bus like a normal kid? His family was so overprotective. He turned to Violet.

"I'm still grounded, so I guess I'll just see you tomorrow," he said.

She nodded. "Have a good evening, Henry."

Henry walked toward Emma's bug. He got in the car and buckled up.

"No 'hello'?" Emma asked.

"I didn't know you were picking me up," Henry said. "I can take the bus you know."

"I think this is safer," Emma said.

"Hades is gone. It's not like there's an immediate threat. Grandpa's magic is still gone, and Maleficent and Zelena aren't going to hurt me."

"You never know what might happen. There could be others out there with magic that we don't know about. And there is plenty of danger in the world without magic," Emma said. "I just want you safe. Besides you're grounded anyway."

"Yeah. Like I could forget," Henry said. He noticed Emma had driven past the turn for Regina's house. "Where are we going?"

"Home," Emma said.

"You past Mifflin."

"I know. We're going to our home. Not Regina's."

Henry crossed his arms. Emma never asked what he wanted. She always assumed she knew. He turned away and looked out the window.

* * *

Regina sighed. She should probably hide the remaining hearts somewhere before anyone else saw them. Emma hadn't answered her call, but had texted back that she was picking Henry up. Regina wasn't sure if Henry had agreed or if Emma had just made the decision. She was debating whether she should text Henry or wait a while and call him at Snow's when the doorbell rang.

She peered through the peephole and saw Gold standing on her porch. This was not good. Emma hadn't told her she'd released him.

"I know you're in there so you might as well just let me in."

She really didn't have the energy to deal with Gold today. He rang the bell again.

"Don't try my patience, dearie."

She flung the door open. "What do you want?

He pushed past her into the front room and took a seat. "A cup of tea might be nice."

She took a deep breath. "It's been a long day. I really don't have the energy for this. What do you want?"

"Well, I thought you might be interested in a little deal."

Regina laughed. "Really? You thought I would be interested in a deal with you? What were you smoking in that jail cell?"

"If I were you, I would wait until you've heard my offer to make any rash decisions. It could be quite dangerous for you and your precious children if word gets out that you don't have your magic."

Regina narrowed her eyes. "Are you threatening me?"

"Oh of course not. It's just a friendly warning. I can be quite forgetful at times and things just slip right out."

"You don't have any magic either. And I think you have at least as many enemies as I do."

"Ah, true. But I don't have anyone but myself to look out for. I don't have any weaknesses."

"Oh? You didn't hear? Belle's awake. She just doesn't want anything to do with you." Regina shot back.

She saw the surprise flicker in his eyes. She shouldn't have told him. Now he'd go after Belle. Shit.

Gold's curiosity got the best of him. "The nurse was able to wake her after all?" He asked.

Regina shook her head. "A potion. I told her I'd wake her for you. If you would have just trusted me instead of trying to kill me…"

"We're getting off track, dearie. I have more to offer than my silence."

Regina raised an eyebrow and waited for him to continue.

"I know who Hyde is and what he brought."

Regina's eyes widened. What he brought? So he had the serum with him. She quickly narrowed her eyes at Gold and faked ignorance. "Oh? And you think I care about this information?"

"I think you should. Especially since he's no longer in possession of the item."

If he didn't have the serum, who did? Regina had a sinking suspicion it was Emma. She feigned indifference. "And why should that matter to me?"

"Once you know what the item is, I think it will be perfectly clear why you should care."

"I'm done talking in riddles, Gold. I don't want your deal. I'm not giving you the crystal. It's dangerous and it's staying hidden."

"What if it's the only way to get your magic back?"

"Well then we're both screwed because I can't get the crystal without my magic," Regina responded tersely. "Now, I'd like you to leave."

That was going to be a problem. Gold needed that crystal to increase his power. Without it, he wasn't sure he could restore the magic. Possibly the dagger would be enough. But he wasn't sure if Regina was telling him the truth. Did she really need her magic to get it? Or was she just playing him? He scrutinized her face, but she wasn't giving anything away. She wasn't the master Cora was, but she had become more skilled at hiding her thoughts and emotions over the years.

Regina walked to the door and held it open for Gold. Instead of him walking out the door, Robin and Zelena (holding Marilyn) walked in. Roland followed looking worn out.

"Expecting us?" Robin asked kissing her lightly on the cheek as he walked in. He stopped when he saw Gold. "I thought he was in jail."

"The Charming heroes thought it would be alright to let me out since I really am quite harmless without my magic." Gold smiled as he stood. "Think about my offer, your majesty." He said as he walked past Regina and out the door.

"Are you alright, love?" Robin asked taking in Regina's appearance. She seemed on edge and pale. But she'd been pale last night as well. She wasn't taking care of herself.

"I'm fine."

"What offer was he talking about?" Robin asked.

"I'm hungry!" Roland whined before Regina could answer.

"Right. We stopped by to see if you'd like to join us for dinner at Granny's. Henry too." Robin said.

"Henry's not here. He's with Emma." Regina said.

"Well, then, you must join us. Zelena and I have managed to spend the day together without incident so I do believe a celebration is in order."

Regina laughed and looked at her sister cradling the baby lovingly. Zelena looked up and smiled. "Alright. Granny's it is." Regina grabbed her purse and stepped outside. Roland was practically dragging Robin down the street and Regina let them get a few feet ahead of her and Zelena.

"Zelena, did Hyde have anything on him when he was in jail?" Regina asked softly.

Zelena turned to Regina in surprise. "Yes, actually he did. I forgot about that."

"Where is it?" Regina asked.

"Emma took it. She said she knew what it was. She was going to explain it over dinner, but then we found Belle awake and there was so much going on I forgot about it. I guess she still has it. Do you know what it is?" Zelena asked.

Regina frowned.

"Yes. Unfortunately, I think I do."


	18. Chapter 18

**_A/N: Rating change for violence and language._ **

Henry hung up the phone in the Charmings' kitchen.

"Mom said we could meet them for dinner at Granny's. I want to go."

"Henry, your grandmother has already cooked us a nice dinner. We're not going out."

"Emma, it's really okay if you three want to meet up with Regina. David and Neal and I can have a quiet dinner on our own. It's been a rough few weeks. Henry should have all his family around." Mary Margaret said.

Emma sighed. Finding a place for her and Hook to live was getting bumped to the top of her to-do list. She didn't need her mother weighing in on parenting decisions. It was bad enough she had to confer with Regina about parenting her own child.

"I said-" Emma started, but Hook interrupted.

"I think it might be good to have a family dinner with Regina. I'm sure it would be nice for Henry to have a dinner with both his mothers."

"Please, Emma." Henry asked.

Emma sighed. She was outnumbered. If she refused now she would just look like she was being difficult or holding a grudge against Regina. "Fine. Let's go."

* * *

As Regina, Robin, Zelena and the children turned the corner, Regina spotted Emma's bug outside Granny's. She sighed in relief. Emma had brought Henry. At least she could have dinner with Henry.

Robin held the door open as Zelena and Regina walked in. He followed Regina in, putting his hand gently on her back. She smiled at the contact. It was astonishing to her how something so simple felt so right.

Hook saw them first and stood to wave them over to the booth Emma and Henry were sitting in. Robin glanced at the booth. It was going to be a little tight for all of them.

"Maybe we should move to a table?" He suggested.

"I didn't realize you were bringing her." Emma said looking at Zelena.

" _She_ has a name and she can hear you. I would hope that you would use better manners in front of our son," Regina said testily. She'd had enough of Emma's attitude lately.

"I think a table is a great idea, mate." Hook said quickly. "The little one is growing so fast." He said nodding toward the baby as he sat down at the table.

Robin pulled out a chair for Regina and Roland immediately climbed into the seat next to her. "We've finally settled on a name." Robin volunteered.

Zelena stood uncomfortably, seemingly unsure where to sit.

"You can sit by me, Aunt Zelena," Henry said. "What's my cousin's name?"

Zelena smiled gratefully at Henry and quickly sat next to him.

"Marilyn." Zelena announced.

"As in Marilyn Monroe?" Emma asked. "You named your daughter after a woman who died of a drug overdose?"

"I'm not familiar with this Marilyn Monroe. Is she a fairytale character in this world?" Robin asked.

"No. She's a celebrity from this world. Famous movie star." Regina supplied. "But I highly doubt Zelena and Robin were naming their daughter after an actress."

"No. We didn't. It's to honor Marian." Zelena said.

Regina took a sip of water.

"I think that's a very pretty name." Hook said.

"My sister is named for my mamma?" Roland asked.

"Well, not exactly." Robin said. "But we thought it would be a nice way to honor your mother's memory. And now maybe she'll keep a special watch on your sister from wherever she is."

Roland seemed deep in thought. "Can we name her Regina too? So Regina can keep her safe like she keeps me safe?"

"I don't think this world can handle two Reginas." Emma said.

Regina looked up and met Emma's eyes. "It's reassuring to hear you say that."

Emma looked away immediately. Regina sighed internally. So Emma did have the serum.

Regina turned to Roland. "You don't have my name and I keep you safe, so we don't need to name your sister my name either. I'll always keep you both safe."

Roland looked up at her. "Promise?"

Regina nodded and squeezed his hand. "Promise."

Henry watched the interaction. "Mom, can I stay at home tonight?" He asked.

"Henry, you just stayed with Regina last night." Emma argued.

"The loft is crowded. Mom's house is bigger and it has all my stuff." Henry said.

"Just because your video games are there doesn't mean you get to play them." Regina cautioned.

"I know." Henry acknowledged.

"The lad's right, there isn't much space at your parents," Hook agreed.

"Fine. Stay with Regina. Can we just order?" Emma asked. She hadn't looked up at Regina since Regina's veiled comment about the serum.

Regina felt Robin's arm tighten around her waist and she leaned back against it. She could feel the tension building. She needed to relax.

"Papa, can I stay with Regina too?" Roland asked. "You said if I went to bed nice I could."

Regina met Henry's eyes. "That would be cool. We could have a sleepover." Henry said giving his approval. Regina nodded slightly to Robin.

"Alright. But you have to promise to be a good listener and do everything Regina tells you." Robin said.

Emma rolled her eyes. Why was everyone so willing to send children off with the Evil Queen? And why did all the kids want to go there instead of with her? Emma wouldn't admit it, but she was jealous. Somehow despite all the evil things she'd done, Regina seemed to have won over everyone at the table.

After the initial tension, dinner went fairly smoothly, but Emma had steadfastly avoided Regina even though she sat across from her.

Robin leaned over and whispered softly to Regina, "You never told me what Gold wanted. Is it something we should discuss with Emma?"

Regina sighed. She didn't want to discuss anything with Emma. But she was concerned about Gold.

"What made you decide to release Gold?" Regina asked abruptly. The conversations stopped.

"I can't keep him in the jail indefinitely. He doesn't have any magic, how much damage can he do?" Emma asked.

Regina smiled wryly. "Plenty. But that's beside the point. He's not going to just sit around with no magic. He's going to try to get it back."

"Do you really think he has any idea how to do that? I mean, we don't and Belle's been researching like crazy." Emma said.

"He'll find a way. Gold always gets what he wants." Regina replied. "I think we should reach out to Maleficent. When I spoke to her before she seemed to have some knowledge of the cup."

Henry huffed dramatically.

Regina ignored him. He may still think it was a great idea to get rid of magic, but she knew better.

"I don't think we can trust Maleficent. She's already picked Gold's side once. I don't think we can trust her to be on our side."

"I'm sorry, did you forget the part where she saved my life by dropping Gold in the ocean?" Regina said testily.

Hook and Robin exchanged looks. This wasn't going to stay civil long.

"Maybe we should discuss this somewhere a little more private." Robin suggested.

"Maybe we shouldn't be discussing this at all," Emma said. "I think it's pretty obvious that we can't trust the dragon. I'm not sure why we're trusting the witch either. Surrounding ourselves with villains doesn't really seem like a sound game plan."

Regina pursed her lips tightly. She was too tired for this. She stood up abruptly. "Let's chat Ms. Swan." She started down the hallway not waiting for Emma to follow.

"Maybe you two should clear the air," Hook agreed.

Emma stood up, "I'm not one of her subjects. I'm not going to blindly follow her orders. I'm leaving. Are you coming?"

Hook frowned and looked back at the table. He'd been having a good time with Robin and Henry. And even Zelena was fairly tolerable. But the tension between Regina and Emma was palpable. And if he was honest, he'd really had enough. If Emma wasn't going to work it out with the Queen, he was ready to leave. He stood and followed her toward the door.

Silence followed. "So who's going to break the news to my sister?" Zelena asked.

Robin stood up. "Roland, you stay with Henry alright? Regina and I will be back in a moment."

* * *

Gold watched Emma storm out. Well, she wasn't on Regina's side. That was something. He held his dagger tightly. He could feel magic coursing through it. He just needed to figure out how to get that magic to course though him again.

All he needed was Regina to get the Olympian crystal for him. He was confident he could fix everything with it. It had untapped power. Even more than the dagger. No one would be able to stop him again if he had that. But there was that slim chance that Regina was telling the truth and wherever she'd sent the crystal it could only be retrieved with magic. He'd just have to get the Queen alone. He knew all the buttons to push to get the information out of her.

* * *

Regina whipped around to find that she was alone. Emma couldn't even talk to her? She started back the way she came and bumped straight into Robin.

"Whoah. Slow down. Maybe you should take a minute to calm down before you go back in there." Robin said gripping her shoulders and steadying her in place.

"I am going to have a talk with Emma if I have to drag her in her by her hair. I've had enough of this," Regina vented.

"Well, it's going to have to wait. She's gone."

"What? She left?"

"Apparently a chat with you right now didn't seem like a pleasant thing," Robin said wryly.

Regina glared at him and he lifted his hands in surrender. Regina sighed.

"Forget it. Let's just go home. Does Roland need anything from the camp?"

Robin shook his head. "Are you sure it's alright for him to stay over?"

"Of course. Henry's excited. It's sweet how much Roland looks up to him. I think Henry gets a kick out of the adoration. Plus, he's grounded so this is the only way he's going to get to have any fun." Regina smiled.

Robin reached up and brushed a piece of hair back off of Regina's face. "Henry's not the only one Roland adores."

"Oh no?" Regina asked.

"He's pretty enthralled with her majesty."

Regina laughed. "Is he the only one?"

"I think he's got some competition for the Queen's affection."

"I think the Queen has plenty of affection to go around." Regina answered.

"Oh? I heard she was quite frightening."

"She can be. Better to stay on her good side."

"And what would one do to stay on her good side?" Robin asked.

Regina stepped back. "If I told you, it would take away all the fun. Come on, it's getting late and Henry has school in the morning." She turned and walked back to the diner. Robin watched her go wishing he was invited to the sleepover.

* * *

Regina was picking up the board games and books the boys had left out. The giggling from upstairs had finally stopped. Regina was exhausted. It had been a long day. She glanced toward the office where the remaining hearts were. She'd figured out the next step in Operation Chameleon. She was going to return all the items she had in her vault that she'd stolen from her victims. She wanted to undo the spells she'd cast on Snow's supporters that were reversible. Like the warts she'd given the peasant who'd laughed at her. But without her magic that wasn't going to happen. Something creaked in the next room. She was jumpy tonight. On edge. Probably from all the emotions today. And the lack of sleep was probably getting to her.

She went to the front door and checked again to make sure it was locked. She would never admit it, but she felt extremely vulnerable without her magic. It had been different during the curse when no one knew who she was. But now that they all knew, she worried that they would come after her and she didn't have her magic to protect her. Maybe she should have taken Robin up on his offer to teach her archery months ago.

She sat down on the couch and flipped open another book. There had to be something on how to return her magic. She thought about calling Mal. She was too tired to make the trip there tonight, and she couldn't very well leave Henry and Roland alone. It would have to wait. She turned back to her reading.

* * *

The sun streamed through the blinds.

"Mom."

"Regina."

"Mom." Henry said more insistent. She felt shaking.

"Why can't I call her mom too?" she heard Roland ask.

"I told you. She's not your mom. Your mom just isn't here anymore." He shook Regina harder. "Mom. We're hungry. And I'm going to be late for school if you don't hurry."

Regina blinked and sat up. Everything hurt. She straightened her body from the slumped over position she'd fallen into. Her face felt sticky from the ink on the page her cheek had been resting on.

She focused her eyes on the two boys hovering over her where she must have fallen asleep on the couch. She cleared her throat.

"Okay. Okay. I'm awake."

"I'm hungry. Can we have the cakes for breakfast?" Roland asked.

Regina smiled as she stood up. "There's no time for pancakes today, Roland. We have to take Henry to school. How about some fruit and yogurt?" She hated not giving them any protein.

She made her way to the kitchen and searched the refrigerator. Bacon would take too long. Maybe she could whip Henry up an egg. She turned to Henry. "How much time do we have?"

"School starts in 25 minutes."

Regina sighed. She began hurrying around the kitchen. That meant she had ten minutes to get the boys breakfast and into the car. She frowned. "Can you get the blender down, please Henry?"

Henry did as she asked and she quickly threw blueberries, strawberries, yogurt and spinach into the blender.

"Why are you putting salad in the milkshake?" Roland asked.

"It's spinach sweetheart, and you won't even taste it." She dropped a couple drops of vanilla in and turned the blender on. "Go put on your shoes and wait for me in the car." She instructed and Henry took Roland's hand and led him away.

Regina quickly poured the smoothie into two travel mugs and slipped on her heels that were still by the front door and followed the boys outside. She didn't bother to look in the mirror. She already knew her clothes were a wrinkled mess from sleeping in them and she probably had ink all over her face instead of makeup. If she had her magic this wouldn't be a problem she huffed to herself as she climbed in the car.

* * *

Blue watched Regina climb into her car. The Queen was looking awfully ragged. She had Robin's son with her. Well, she'd just have to wait. She couldn't give Regina the serum with the children around. With anyone around really. It was too dangerous. If she didn't subdue and kill the Queen quickly enough after the serum did its work whoever was there would be in danger.

She watched the car drive away and turned to head back to the convent.

* * *

Emma sat at the station with David and Hook. She sighed in frustration. "You're sure Belle couldn't find anything?"

"Love, she said she would call us if she found anything."

"Relax, Emma. The fairies still have their magic. And your mother hid the chalice well, so it's going to stay that way. You have nothing to worry about. Gold doesn't have any magic and no one else in town is a threat."

"Zelena's still here. And Maleficent." Emma shot back.

"And Regina has managed to bring them all to our side."

"Really? They're on our side?"

"Well, they're at least on Regina's side. They both worked to save Regina from Hades. And they are helping us as long as it's Regina asking," David amended.

"That doesn't make me feel better." Emma said.

"Well, it's what we have for now. I think we should ask Regina to see if they have ideas for returning your magic," Hook said.

"No. I don't trust any of them."

"Love, I think you're being unreasonable," Hook said. "I know you're worried, but you're the one who always manages to bring us all together. And that's the key Emma. We have to all work together."

Emma was silent. "I'm going to take a walk."

* * *

Regina collapsed on the couch. That was it. That was the last one. She'd returned all the hearts. Well, all the hearts that still had bodies to claim them. She shut her eyes. She wasn't sure she had the energy for a trip to her vault. Her phone buzzed with a text message. She forced herself to open her eyes and see who it was in case it was Henry.

The message wasn't from Henry. It was from Robin. Asking if she would have dinner with him. She grinned. Her boyfriend was asking her to dinner. She felt a sense of peace and calm at the normalcy of it. She quickly responded that she'd love to. Henry. She paused. Would he be angry? She'd talk to him as soon as school was out. She could always cancel on Robin if Henry needed her.

She glanced at the clock. She'd need to leave to get Henry soon.

* * *

Blue had watched a steady stream of people come and go from Regina's all day. At first she'd been frustrated because she was hoping to get the Regina alone, but then she became suspicious. What was Regina doing? So she followed one of the people and took on her fairy form so she could watch through the window undetected. She was shocked to see Regina put back the man's heart and apologize to him. She watched Regina flop back on the couch afterward. This would be the perfect opportunity she thought as she watched the man leave. But something stopped her. She frowned and looked at the serum in her hands. Was this the right thing to do? She wasn't sure.

Then she saw another man walking up the sidewalk. She'd missed her opportunity. Well, maybe it was best to wait until tomorrow she decided as she flew away.

* * *

Regina opened the door and was surprised to see a man she recognized. And he didn't bring back happy memories.

Standing on her front step was the man her mother had told her was her soul mate. She almost shut the door in his face. She had no desire to see this man. But she hesitated; she was trying to make amends. She had tortured him. She should apologize.

Nottingham took advantage of her hesitation and pushed the door open the rest of the way and took a step inside shutting the door behind him.

Regina stepped back. She didn't like the menacing look he was giving her.

"Is there something you need?" Regina asked.

"There's a rumor going around town that you don't have any magic."

Regina forced herself to stand straight and not back down. Now was not the time to show fear. She was afraid, though. She didn't have any magic and Nottingham could easily overpower her. She should have shut the door in his face.

"I see. So I try to do something nice and everyone assumes it's because I don't have any magic?" Regina asked. "Is that why you're here? To see if it's true? Or were you wanting an apology for our history?"

Nottingham laughed. "You think an apology is going to make up for what you did to me?"

"I think we both did some pretty awful things," Regina answered. "And Mother's not here to defend you this time."

"Oh, but without magic, I don't need any defense against you," he said as he shoved her, pushing her into the wall.

Regina froze. She hadn't felt this weak in years. Not since Rumple had taught her magic. Well, there was the brief time when her magic wouldn't work. And then with the cuff…she shuddered as memories of Greg and Tamara and the cannery flooded her mind.

"Not so tough now, are you?" Nottingham said. "Now, I don't have a spinning wheel to hang you over a fire pit, but I'm sure I can come up with something to substitute," he said smiling wickedly.

Regina struggled. He had her pinned against the wall. She swiftly brought her knee straight up into his crouch. He moaned and hunched over in pain and she slid out of his grip and ran toward the next room. Before she could get out of his reach, he grabbed her ankle and she tumbled forward falling to the ground. She kicked at him and the table in her entryway tipped over causing the vase on it to shatter. The pieces of porcelain flew.

"Ouch!" Nottingham yelled as a porcelain chip hit his back.

Regina was oblivious to the shards that landed on her legs; she just kept kicking. She saw her umbrella stand rolled toward it despite the pain that radiated through her ankle as she twisted in his grip.

He leaned forward to take the umbrella from her, but she managed to hit him with it anyway.

"Bitch," Nottingham snapped. He grabbed the umbrella and tried to pry it from her hands.

Neither one of them noticed the door open again.

"Shit." Emma said. She pulled out her gun quickly. "Stand up slowly and put your arms above your head."

Nottingham glared at Regina. "This isn't over. You're going to pay for what you did."

"Up! Now." Emma said.

Nottingham slowly stood up. Emma held the gun on him. "Get my handcuffs out and cuff him, Regina."

Regina pushed herself to her feet wincing as she felt pain shoot through her ankle and up her leg when she put weight on it. That was definitely sprained. She limped over to Emma and took the cuffs out and cuffed Nottingham.

Emma sighed and holstered her gun. "Well, I guess our chat is going to have to wait. Let me call David to get him."

Regina's hands were shaking. "Henry," she said softly.

"Oh right. Do you want to let him take the bus or have Mary Margaret go get him?" Emma asked.

Regina took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. "I'll call your mother." And with that she hobbled into the next room to find her phone.


	19. Chapter 19

_**A/N: Thanks for the reviews and follows. It's always nice to know people are reading. :) Characters still aren't mine.**_

Regina was sitting on her bed trying to regulate her breathing. She couldn't calm down. She hated this feeling. She didn't want to be a victim. That's why she'd become the Evil Queen. She was sick of everyone else dictating her life. Forcing her to do what they wanted her to do. She stared at her hands that were still shaking. She needed her magic back. Maybe she was interested in Gold's deal after all. She couldn't continue living like this.

"Regina?" Emma said in a gentle tone as she knocked lightly on the door.

Regina shut her eyes. She did not feel like dealing with Emma right now.

"Please, Emma, I really don't want to do this right now. Just go spend some time with Henry. That's what you've been wanting anyway."

Emma pushed the door open. "I'm sorry."

"I don't need your sympathy. I'm fine," Regina snapped.

Emma took a few steps toward her. "I know. You were pretty impressive. Who knew an umbrella could be such a great weapon?"

Regina rolled her eyes.

Emma glanced at the blood streaks on Regina's legs. She nodded toward them.

"Where's your first aid kit?" Emma asked.

"I don't need your help, Ms. Swan."

"Let me help anyway."

Regina frowned. She was getting blood all over her bed and she really didn't feel like walking on her ankle.

"There's one in the medicine cabinet," Regina said.

Emma disappeared and returned with a soapy washcloth and the first aid kit. She reached the cloth toward one of the cuts on Regina's leg, but Regina intercepted grabbing the cloth from Emma.

"I'm not a child. I can do it myself," Regina snapped as she began cleaning the cuts and making sure there wasn't any glass in them.

"Seriously, I'm sorry. I've been a jerk. I mean, just consider it payback for all the awful things you did to me before the curse broke, but-"

"You're about as good with apologies as I am," Regina interrupted.

Emma smiled sheepishly. "Yeah. I have some things I need to tell you."

"It's okay. I know you have the serum," Regina said. "Are you planning to use it now? Because I really don't have the energy for another fight and it's going to be a while before Robin arrives."

"You knew I had the serum?"

Regina nodded and then frowned. "Had?"

Emma looked down refusing to meet Regina's eyes. "Hook and I fought about it, so I gave it to Mother Superior so I wouldn't be the one making the decision."

Regina's eyes widened. "You did what?"

"I'm sorry. I'll ask her to give it back. I thought it was the right thing. She's good."

Regina was silent. A million thoughts were running through her mind. The first being that her life was now in the hands of the stupid fairy that hated her. That wasn't going to end well. "I don't think she's going to just give it back, Emma."

"I can try."

Regina nodded. "Fine. Try to get it back. But I'm most concerned with getting our magic back."

"Okay. It's priority number one. It was Neal that led Henry to the object. Do you think he had more information on it? Maybe we should go back to New York?"

"I doubt it. Neal never actually found the object, right? What about Gold's friend? The dragon?"

"He said there's always magic. Even in the land with no magic. It's about belief. What if we gather everyone and make wishes in the well?" Emma said.

Regina bit her lip in concentration. "I don't know if it will work. That was to bring back magic in general. Not to bring back a specific person's magic. But it can't hurt to try, right?"

Emma nodded. "I'll fill mom and dad in and we can start organizing everyone tonight. Do you want me to bring Henry back or keep him for the night?"

Regina didn't want Henry to feel unwanted, but internally she was an emotional wreck and she still wanted to go see Mal tonight. "Maybe you should keep him. I just need a little rest."

Emma nodded and was about to say something when the doorbell rang. She frowned as she turned to Regina. "Are you expecting company?"

Regina nodded slowly. "Robin."

"Oh." Emma said raising her eyebrows.

Regina waved her off. "We're just having dinner. He has Roland to get back to." She stood up, trying to hide her limp as she headed downstairs to let Robin in.

* * *

Robin stepped inside and frowned noticing the broken glass in the entryway. Regina followed his gaze and she felt her hands begin to shake again. She quickly turned away.

"I'm sorry. I should clean that up," she headed toward the kitchen.

"Regina, do you want me to take care of it before I go?" Emma asked.

"No. It's fine, Ms. Swan." Regina said as she grabbed the broom and dustpan and returned to the entryway.

"What happened?" Robin asked.

"There was a minor altercation, but everyone is fine," Regina said quickly.

Robin turned to Emma. "Between the two of you?"

"No, I-" Emma started.

"Goodnight, Ms. Swan." Regina said cutting her off.

Emma gave Robin a tight-lipped smile. "Right. Goodnight," she opened the door and left.

Robin put his hand on Regina's shoulder in an attempt to get her to stop sweeping and look at him. She flinched at his touch. He frowned. "Regina?"

She stepped away from him keeping her back to him, but lifting a hand to stop him from moving toward her. "It's fine. I just need to clean this up and I'll start dinner."

Robin hesitated. Something was clearly wrong. But he wasn't sure whether to push or give her space. It was such a delicate dance with Regina.

"How about I finish cleaning this up and you get started on dinner? Since we both know I haven't figured out all those warming devices yet." He said trying to lighten the mood. He was watching Regina closely and had noted how tense she was. She didn't answer immediately. "Or we could just go to Granny's if you're tired," he tried again.

Regina took a deep breath. She couldn't quite calm down. She didn't like this feeling at all. She had felt a little better talking to Emma and working out a plan to get her magic back. But what if it didn't work? And she still had to go through the night without it. What if someone else came after her? She tried to shake it off. She wasn't some silly little princess. She could take care of herself. She always had.

"Regina? Did you hear me?" Robin asked, taking a tentative step toward her.

"Hm?" She asked.

"Turn around, love. Hand me the broom," Robin said gently.

She took a deep breath and turned to face him her face void of any emotion. She held out the broom to him.

Robin stared at her outstretched arm. Her hand was shaking. Regina didn't get rattled easily. Even when her sister had been ready to kill her and she was convinced she wasn't strong enough to defeat her, Regina hadn't seemed this fragile. He took the broom and leaned it against the wall and pulled her into his arms. He felt her body go rigid in his arms, but he kissed her lightly on the forehead and rubbed her back with his hand. And that was all it took. Her body relaxed and she leaned into him, clinging to him. He felt her body shaking against his as she began crying.

The second she felt his arms around her and the soothing motion of his hand on her back, she broke. She couldn't hold back the tears. She was scared. She hadn't been truly frightened in a long time, but she was now. She felt exposed without her magic.

"Let's go into the other room," Robin said leading her slowly into the living room and sitting on the couch, pulling her back against him as he did. "Tell me what's going on, Regina. Talk to me."

Regina remained silent, but Robin could feel her still shaking slightly in his arms. He waited a minute, but when Regina continued to maintain the silence, he turned her around lifted her chin so he could see her face. He saw the tears in her eyes and a few stray tears creating tracks down her cheeks. He felt sick. Something had happened. He'd never seen her like this.

"Regina, you're scaring me. Please talk to me."

She sighed. "It's my fault. I deserved it."

Robin's brow furrowed. "Deserved what?"

"He was just trying to get revenge," she continued her voice breaking slightly as she tried to reign in the tears.

"Regina, love, who? Tell me what happened. Was someone else here?"

She took a deep breath. "I…there…" She shut her eyes. Where to start? "You remember I told you mother tried to force me into another relationship I didn't want after the King was gone? She knew about the man with the lion tattoo. She brought a man to the castle and told me it was you."

"What? I never met your mother." Robin said.

"I know." Regina said. "She'd given him a magical tattoo to fool me. But he has horrible and I realized the tattoo wasn't real."

Robin waited patiently for her to continue.

"I sent him to the dungeons and tortured him. But mother found out and set him free." Regina said.

"And he came after you tonight. But why would he suddenly come after you?"

"Word is spreading that I don't have my magic anymore." Regina said.

Robin's eyes widened with understanding. That's why she was so scared. She felt defenseless without her magic. "Come here." He pulled her tightly into his arms. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you. We're going to get you a bow and I'm going to teach you how to use it. I'm not leaving you defenseless."

Regina laughed at the image of her opening her door with a loaded bow and arrow.

"Maybe I should just get a gun from Swan." Regina said.

Robin kissed her forehead. "Whatever you want, love."

"I want to stay right here in your arms. You make me feel safe. I haven't felt this way in a long time."

"I'll hold you as long as you want."

"I'm sorry I ruined dinner."

"You didn't ruin anything, Regina. None of this is your fault."

"I did torture him, Robin. It was pretty awful. He's right. I do deserve to pay for what I did."

"No honorable man assaults a woman for revenge." Robin said. "You did some horrible things, but that is in the past. And we can't live in the past. You have to let go of your past, Regina, or you're never going to be truly happy."

Regina snuggled closer to him. He was right. But she didn't know how to do that. She didn't think she'd ever get that happy ending she was so desperate for. It just wasn't in the cards for her. But she wasn't going to drag Robin down with her. She'd do everything in her power to keep him safe and make him happy. She loved him.

* * *

Blue was watching Regina's house. First that Nottingham guy, then Emma, now Robin, she was never going to get Regina alone.

"I think our interests are aligned," Gold said from behind Blue. She gasped and spun around to see him.

"Our interests will never be aligned. You will never free yourself from the darkness."

"You're not as light as you think," Gold challenged. "There's dark in you as well or you wouldn't be thinking about forcing that on Regina against her will. The good doctor filled me in on exactly what it does. I'd be happy to help you use it on Regina."

Blue frowned. If Gold wanted Regina split, maybe it wasn't a good idea after all.

"I've missed my good friend and pupil," Gold said.

Ah, Blue realized Gold was only interested in the Evil Queen. Who she was going to kill, so Gold wouldn't benefit from her plan after all.

"I don't need you help. I'm perfectly capable of injecting Regina myself." Blue stated. "Now leave me."

Gold shrugged. "Suit yourself."

He walked away innocently, but grinned. Good, he thought. She had it and planned to use it. Now he just needed to make sure he could reach The Evil Queen before Blue did anything stupid.

* * *

Robin had called John to have him watch Roland and he'd let Zelena take Marilyn for the night. He wasn't going to leave Regina alone after what happened. She had fallen asleep in his arms on the couch. He'd carried her upstairs a few hours ago, but didn't feel right sleeping with her when she had no say in the matter. He'd stay down here and keep guard. That was what was needed anyway.

Hours after Robin had carried her to bed Regina woke up. She was surprised to find herself alone in bed. She'd hoped Robin would have stayed with her tonight. She really didn't want to be alone. Not that she would ever admit that.

She shook her head. She had to stop thinking like that. She could take care of herself. Magic or no magic. She'd done it her whole life. She survived Greg and Tamara. She shuddered pushing them out of her thoughts. And she'd survived the short time in the underworld when her magic wouldn't work. She was fine. She'd just take a knife with her.

She stood up wincing at the pain that shot through her leg when she put weight on her ankle. She was pleased to see that she was still fully dressed. She pulled on her boots and headed to the kitchen to get a knife. As she hit the top of the stairs, she stopped in surprise. She heard snoring.

She slowed her steps down and walked as silently as possible down the stairs. Once she hit the bottom step she could see Robin sleeping on the couch. She quickly went the other direction and found a knife in the kitchen and shoved it in her sock. That actually hurt. Why did people do this? She frowned. She'd had to be quiet. If she woke Robin, he'd protest her going.

It probably wasn't her brightest idea, but she needed to get the items to return from her vault and if she waited until daylight they wouldn't let her go alone. She couldn't bare the thought of Robin or Henry or even the Charmings seeing all the items she'd stolen from the people she'd hurt. Many of the items she'd taken intentionally to hurt them. She felt an almost physical stab in her chest. She'd been so angry. She'd wanted everyone to feel the pain she'd felt. She shook her head. It was the past. She couldn't take it back. Move on, Regina, she thought.

She moved quietly through the front room and opened the door carefully. If she'd had her magic this would be so much easier. She managed to slip out without waking Robin and carefully shut the door behind her.

* * *

Blue had been about to leave for the night. After her encounter with Rumple she was reconsidering her decision. Just as she turned to leave she saw movement at Regina's door.

Where could Regina be going at this time of night? She frowned and quickly took on her fairy form to follow Regina's car.

* * *

Regina had already filled three boxes of things to return. She sighed as she picked up Grace's doll. She shouldn't have separated Jefferson from his daughter. How could she have done that? She couldn't quite bring herself to feel guilt over Jefferson, but Grace, Grace had been innocent and she'd taken away her father. Regina gently placed the doll on top of the box and picked it up. Three boxes was enough. It was late and she was exhausted already. Her ankle throbbed as she forced herself to put weight on it as she climbed the stairs and stepped out of the vault heading directly to her car.

She felt someone grab her arm and the box fell, but before she could react she felt a stab. And then pain. It felt like someone was taking scissors to her cutting away parts of her.

She screamed and hunched over in pain. And then it was like half of her was gone. She blinked as she stared at The Evil Queen.

And then the Queen was frozen. Regina turned, but Blue was already stepping forward. She plunged her hand into the Queen's chest and pulled out her heart, crushing it.

"No!" Gold yelled, running forward. He was too late.

Regina screamed again. Her hand clutched her heart. The pain was excruciating. She fell to her knees, barely registering the Evil Queen crumbling to dust.

"Don't worry, Regina. You're free now," Blue said.

"You idiot! You brainless little gnat!" Gold snarled. "What have you done?"

"I've given Regina a chance to be good. I would have taken you out, but killing the Dark One isn't as easy as crushing a heart.

Regina had curled into herself on the ground. The pain was overwhelming, but despite the pain she felt a strange numbness.

She could hear Gold and Blue talking, but was having a hard time focusing on what they were saying. Her chest felt tight. Like someone was crushing her heart. She let her eyes shut and tried to focus on calming breaths.

"It's too late. She's on our side now. And you can't win without her," Blue said.

"I wouldn't be too sure of that dearie. It's not so easy to snuff out the evil." Gold spat back as he turned and walked away.

Blue bent down to Regina and offered her a hand, but Regina pulled her hand away. "Don't touch me."

"I'm just trying to help, Regina." Blue said calmly.

"I don't want your help. I can't believe you did that. Go away," Regina said.

"You need help, Regina." Blue tried again.

"Not from you. Leave," Regina said putting as much force as she could muster behind her words.

"Regina, be reasonable. This is bigger than you. There's a battle coming. Don't let your pride keep you from-"

"I said leave. Now." Regina's eyes flared as she cut Blue off.

Blue frowned. "Okay. Take some time to adjust. You'll thank me in the end. You can stop battling yourself now."

She changed into her fairy form and flew away.

Regina rolled to her side and sat up. She caught sight of Grace's doll out of the corner of her eye and she started crying. She pulled her knees to her chest and sat on the forest floor rocking and crying.


	20. Chapter 20

_**A/N: I'm so sorry for the long delay. I should have waited until I was finished writing to start posting. This story is almost finished. Only a few more chapters. Thanks for sticking with it!**_

Regina didn't notice Robin approaching. "Regina?"

When he woke up and she was gone, he'd tried calling her, but got no answer so he started walking around town looking for her. He remembered Henry saying she'd hide in her vault when she was upset or scared, so he'd decided to go look there.

When he caught sight of her sobbing on the ground, he ran to her. "Regina! What happened? Are you okay? Did your attacker get out and try again?"

Regina shook her head.

Robin pulled her into his arms, rocking with her. He saw a box on the ground with random items strewn around the floor and closest to Regina was a child's doll. He frowned. Had she been getting some of her childhood belongings for Marilyn? No. Most of the items did not appear to be children's things.

"Regina, what are you doing here?" He asked.

"I'm sorry. I didn't want you to see. I didn't want you to know."

"What are you talking about?" Robin asked becoming more confused by the minute.

"I needed to get some things from my vault. So I could return them. But I didn't want you to see all the things I'd taken. I…I…I didn't want you see how horrible I was."

"Regina, we've talked about this. I know you did horrible things when you were the Evil Queen, but that is all in the past. You are not her anymore. You've turned your life around."

"But I am. Or was. She's d..d..dead now," Regina sobbed.

Robin was at a loss. He had no idea what Regina was talking about. And she definitely wasn't acting like the Regina he knew. She seemed broken. He wondered if this is how she'd been when she lost Daniel.

"Love, you're not making any sense."

Regina sucked in a deep breath and tried to get her tears under control. Robin's warm embrace was helping. His touch was so calming.

She managed to explain what Blue had done. She had already felt off with her magic missing. This only intensified the problem. Robin was helping her up. Telling her she needed to get some rest. She was vaguely aware of what he was saying, but she just followed mindlessly.

Robin was worried. Something was off with Regina. She should be happy, right? She didn't have to fight her evil inclinations anymore. That should be a relief. But it was more like she wasn't really with him anymore. She was nodding and responding to his requests, but her eyes held a dull look and there were no sassy remarks or even arguments. Regina never just did what he asked. She always played devil's advocate.

* * *

Gold had heard that Belle was awake. He wanted to see her. He was tired of waiting in the shadows. That had failed with Regina. Now he was going to have to come up with a new plan to get his magic back.

He stepped into the dinner and quickly spotted Belle. Unfortunately, he also spotted the Charmings sitting with her. They were huddled as if in a serious discussion.

"I don't know what to do with him. If we let him out he's going to go after her again, but we can't very well keep him locked up forever," Emma was saying.

"Maybe you should wait until she has her magic back," Snow suggested. "He won't try again if she has magic."

Zelena suddenly materialized beside them baby in her arms. "Where's Regina?"

The Charmings stared for a minute surprised by her appearance. Snow and Charming looked at each other. Worry filled Henry's face. Emma frowned in confusion. "At her home?" she supplied.

"She's not there. And neither is Robin. And he told me to bring Marilyn there because he was staying at Regina's. I thought maybe they decided to join the lot of you for breakfast."

"Mom wanted me to stay with you so she could have Robin spend the night?" Henry asked. The hurt was evident in his voice. "I told her I was okay with Robin being over. She didn't have to send me away." He pushed away his pancakes no longer hungry.

"Henry, that's not it. She didn't send you away," Emma said.

"Did you try Robin's camp? Maybe they went to get Roland," Snow suggested.

Henry's frown deepened. She'd rather spend time with Roland than him too?

"They aren't there. The big one said he hadn't seen Robin since he left to have dinner with Regina last night," Zelena said.

Emma reached her hand across and took Henry's hand. "Henry, listen, you staying the night with me instead of Regina had nothing to do with you. Regina…" she paused unsure how much to share. It was really Regina's story. "She had an emotional day and she didn't want you to see her upset."

"Because of operation chameleon?" Henry asked.

"Operation what?" David asked.

"You have a new operation? With Regina?" Emma asked feeling slightly jealous.

"Well, it's really just mom's operation. She just let me name it," Henry said seeing that Emma felt left out.

Belle frowned as she noticed Gold across the room. She hadn't wanted to see him, but what if he had information on Regina's whereabouts? Regina had woken her up. She owed her. She stood up. "Where is she?" she asked looking straight at Gold.

"Belle." Gold said taking a step toward her.

Belle held up her hand. "No. Stay where you are. Just answer my question. I think you owe me that."

"I don't think I owe you anything. You put yourself under the sleeping curse. If it weren't for me, you'd still be stuck sleeping in the underworld." Gold said. "You can't avoid me forever. That's my child you're carrying."

"I think our child will be better off without you in his or her life."

"That's not going to happen, dearie. You may have a choice about whether I'm in your life, but that is my child too and you will not keep my child from me," he threatened.

Zelena spun around turning her back on the table and facing Gold.

"Enough. You don't have any magic. You can't make anyone do anything. Have you seen Regina or not?" Zelena asked.

"I'm not in a sharing mood." Gold responded.

Zelena raised her hand. "Don't make me force you. Where is she?"

"I don't know. I'm sure Blue has more information that I do."

The color drained from Emma's face. "Blue?"

Gold smiled sinisterly. "Yes, I do believe she planned on giving the Queen something."

Emma stood up. "I need to go."

Zelena held Marilyn in one arm and grabbed Emma with the other. "What do you know? What was that fairy planning to do to my sister?"

"What Ms. Swan didn't have the guts to do," Gold supplied.

"Zelena, you go with Emma and find Regina. I'll take care of Marilyn," Snow said holding her arms out. Zelena nodded and passed her daughter to Snow.

"Henry and I can get some more books at the library and then head back to Regina's to do more research while we wait," Belle offered.

Zelena nodded. "You stay away from them or I'll make sure you're sorry." Zelena threatened Gold.

He glared, but knew he'd have to bide his time until he found a way to get his magic back.

"I'll go back and check on our friend," David said to Emma who nodded.

Zelena grabbed Emma's arm. "Enough. Let's go. My sister could be in danger."

* * *

After he'd settled Regina in the passenger seat of her car, Robin picked up the items that had fallen out of the box Regina had dropped. There were framed pictures, jewelry, the child's doll and a various other random items.

Regina was silent on the drive back. Robin wasn't sure what to say so he left her to her thoughts.

Regina blinked as the houses past by. She felt a dull ache in her chest and a strange emptiness as if parts of her were missing. Who was she without the Evil Queen? Without magic? A foolish girl who couldn't protect the ones she loved? How was she supposed to keep Henry safe now? And Robin? She'd so nearly lost him when she had her magic, how was she supposed to keep him safe without it?

Before she knew it they were at her mansion. She followed Robin inside.

"Do you want something to eat? Some tea?" Robin offered.

Regina shook her head. "I'm going to lay down." And with that she heading up the stairs.

Robin wasn't sure if he should follow her or give her space. He went back outside and brought in the boxes she'd loaded into her car, stacking them neatly in the living room.

And then he followed her path up the stairs.

The second Regina entered her bedroom she nearly collapsed on her bed. She bent over to remove her boots. The zipper was stuck. She tugged at it and then had to tug at the boot. She winced in pain. Her foot was completely swollen. Pretending it was fine and walking on it had not been a fantastic idea. She sighed. She'd just made a plethora of good decisions tonight. She should probably ice it. But that would mean going back downstairs.

"Regina?" There was a light knock on her bedroom door. She hadn't bothered to shut it, but she appreciated that Robin didn't just walk in.

"Yes?" Regina asked.

"I just wanted-" he stopped catching sight of her ankle, "what happened to your ankle?"

"I twisted it," she said her voice void of emotion.

Robin frowned. "At the vault?"

Regina shook her head. "Earlier."

Robin was frustrated. She was volunteering nothing. "I'll get you some ice," he headed downstairs. Maybe it was better to give her some space. He needed to check on Roland anyway.

When he came back in, he handed her an icepack and a glass of water. "I'm going to go to camp and relieve John of babysitting duty. I can come back by for lunch if you'd like."

Regina struggled to hide her surprise and fear. She hadn't expected him to leave. She'd been attacked twice in one day and he was going to just leave her? That wasn't fair. He'd stayed the night to keep her safe and she had snuck out like a teenager. This was her fault she could face the consequences alone. "Don't worry about. I told Emma I'd meet her today to work on getting our magic back. I don't know how long that will take."

Robin frowned again. Regina did not look good. She should be in bed, not out on missions with Emma. He nodded. "Okay. Well, let me know how it goes. I can bring you lunch or dinner if you like. And make sure you rest that ankle."

She nodded.

* * *

Emma and Zelena were halfway to the convent when Emma's phone started ringing interrupting the heated conversation between herself and Zelena regarding Jekyll's serum.

"It's Regina," Emma said the relief evident in her voice. She clicked the button to accept the call. "Regina, where are you? Zelena said you weren't at home. We were worried. Oh. Okay. Yeah, I can tell her. Alright. I'm on my way." She hung up.

"Regina says she and Robin were out, but she's back and he headed over to relieve Little John. She said you should take Marilyn to him there."

"Where are you on your way to?" Zelena asked.

"Regina's. We're going to go to the well and try to restore our magic," Emma explained.

"Well, I'm still going to see that blasted fairy. She needs to know that she does not get to make choices for my sister. I'm getting that damn serum back." Zelena said.

"I don't know if confronting her is a great idea, Zelena. Maybe you should wait and take my mom with you. She and Blue have a good relationship," Emma suggested.

"I'm not asking for your advice, Emma." And with that Zelena waved her hand and disappeared in a cloud of green.

Emma sighed and headed toward Regina's.

* * *

Gold did a double take when he entered his shop and found someone standing behind his counter.

"I thought you'd never return," the Evil Queen said.

"What are you doing here?" Gold asked.

The Queen raised her eyebrow. "So you're not surprised I'm still alive?"

"Not particularly, dearie. The stupid fairy should have known you can't get rid of evil that easily. Was there something you needed? I'm quite busy."

The Queen frowned. She hated turning to Rumplestiltskin for anything, but she didn't know what was going on and her mentor was the only person she could think of who might have some answers. "My magic isn't working."

"Ah. Well, that puts you in a bit of a sticky situation doesn't it? Seeing as you cursed everyone in this town and most of them still hate you. And even the ones that don't, will probably go back to hating you once they see you're back to your evil ways," he said.

"Can you fix it or not? I don't care to play games with you today."

"Well, unfortunately, I can't fix it. My magic is gone as well. That boy your counterpart _loves_ so much took our magic." He explained bitterly. "But maybe together we could get it back. Let me think it over."

* * *

Emma stood outside Regina's waiting for her. She'd rung the bell three times and was still waiting for Regina to open the door. Emma tapped her foot impatiently and reached to ring the bell again just as Regina opened the door.

Emma stared at her for a minute. Her eyes were swollen as if she'd been crying and she was incredibly pale.

Regina stepped outside. She paused in front of Emma. "You can drive."

Emma was surprised, but she turned and walked back toward her car. After unlocking the doors she turned to Regina only to find that Regina was still quite a ways up the sidewalk. She was limping.

Emma hurried back to her. "Are you hurt?"

Regina waved her off. "It's just a sprained ankle. I'm fine."

"Oh. Okay." Emma held out her arm. "You want a hand?"

"I'm perfectly capable of walking on my own, thank you." Regina said as she continued slowly toward the car. Emma shrugged and went back and climbed in the car to wait for Regina.

* * *

Zelena magically flung the Blue fairy into the wall. "What do you mean, it's too late?"

"It is for the best. Now she's free. And she can fight on our side. If she was on the dark side, there would have been no chance for good to win. She's key," Blue explained.

"Oh? And what side do you think I'm on?" Zelena said, keeping the fairy pinned to the wall.

"The wrong one." Blue answered.

"And who are you to decide what's the right side? You are going to pay for what you did to my sister. You stay away from my family or I will destroy you." Zelena said angrily before letting the fairy drop and storming out.

* * *

The Evil Queen sat across from Gold grinning. "So you think if we get this chalice thing and use the Olympian crystal on it it will return the magic that was taken?" She asked.

Gold nodded. "It's not been done before, but theoretically, yes."

"Well then, I think it's time to pay my arch nemesis a visit," the Queen laughed menacingly.

* * *

Little John happily greeted Robin as he returned to camp.

"I thought something 'ad 'appened to ya when Zelena came looking for you and you weren't back," John said.

"I'm fine. Regina had a rough night, but I'm okay," Robin said.

"Well, here's some news to make your day better. Will 'eard that your buddy got locked up yesterday,"

Robin frowned. "My buddy?"

"The old sheriff of Nottingham. Apparently, he's popped up in Storybrooke and did somethin' to get 'imself thrown in jail yesterday," John said.

"What did he do?" Robin asked.

"Apparently, the Sheriff and Deputy are being real tightlipped about it, but Will said the word at the bar is that it was someone pretty important and powerful."

Robin felt a sick feeling in his stomach. It couldn't be. Nottingham couldn't be the man that assaulted Regina.

"Would it be too much to ask you to keep an eye on Roland a little longer? I'd like to go pay my old friend a visit," Robin said.

"Do you think that's a good idea? He might not even know you're here and going to see him will just paint a target on your back." John reasoned.

"Well, that's just a chance I'm going to have to take," Robin said. "If you can't keep Roland, I suppose I could see if Mary Margaret would keep an eye on him."

John shook his head. "No, I'll keep an eye on the lad. Just don't get yourself into trouble Robin."

Robin nodded as he headed off.

* * *

Emma abruptly stopped the bug in the woods in front of the well. She jumped out and headed toward the well. Regina had been pretty silent the whole ride over. Emma thought maybe she'd change her mind and was angry with Emma again. Regina was good at holding grudges after all.

Regina slowly opened the car door and stepped out. As her ankle hit the ground, she could feel how weak it was as it threated to give out under her. She looked at the distance from the car to the well. She wasn't going to make it that far. She should have gotten a crutch or something. Why hadn't she thought of that?

Emma turned back around when she reached the well. "Well? Are you coming?"

Regina looked at her for a moment struggling internally. She shut her eyes and bit the bullet. "Could you give me a hand, Ms. Swan?"

Emma hesitated in surprise. She quickly walked back to Regina and offered her hand. Instead of taking it Regina put her arm over Emma's shoulder. Emma hadn't expected that, but reacted quickly wrapping her arm around Regina's waist. With Emma's help Regina managed to hop to the well keeping her weight mostly off her sore ankle.

"So how to you see this working?" Regina asked. "Are we just going to stand here and hope that our powers are magically restored?"

Emma sighed. That was the Regina she knew. "Well, you know how in the portal we threw the quarters in to the fountain and made wishes…I thought maybe we could do that with the well and it would bring magic back."

Regina raised her eyebrow. "I think we should have brought more people then. You know, people who are actually good at the hope thing."

Emma smiled wryly. "Yeah…maybe I should call mom and have her and Henry come. Combined that pair can probably wrangle enough hope to cover the whole town."

Regina smiled. "Since we're here, we might as well try right? We can always call for reinforcements later."

Emma nodded. She reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a handful of coins. She held her hand out to Regina offering her the coins. "Shall we?"

Regina let go of the well with one hand, shifting her weight to compensate and took a few coins from Emma.

"Here goes nothing," she said closing her eyes as she tossed the first one in wishing for her magic to return.

As they continued to toss the coins in, Regina began to lose hope. They only had a few left and she felt no difference.

She put her hand on Emma's stopped Emma from throwing in the last coin.

"I think it's time to call in the hope brigade."

Emma nodded. "I'll call David if you want to call Mary Margaret and Henry. We could probably enlist Robin and Hook as well if you want…" Emma said trailing off.

Regina nodded and pulled out her phone.

* * *

David was typing up a report when Robin stormed inside the jail. He walked straight past David to the cell.

"Odd, turn of events here. Shouldn't the thief be behind bars?" Nottingham said.

David looked between Nottingham's taunting expression and Robin's livid one.

"You stay awake from Regina! If you ever so much as look at her funny-"

Nottingham's lips turned into a smile. "So she did find her _soulmate_ after all."

Robin reached for Nottingham through the bars. David got up. "Whoah. Let's all calm down."

Robin ignored him. "How could you do that to her?"

"How could I not? She was the Queen. I would have been King. And those dresses. Well, let's just say it didn't take much imagination to know what I'd be getting. Who's going to pass up that?"

Robin spun around. "Where are the keys?" He asked David.

"Robin, calm down. You don't need the keys. He's just trying to get you upset. He's locked up. He's not going to hurt anyone from behind bars."

"This is so much better than I thought it would be. I mean, not only did I start to even the score with the Queen, I've upset you in the process." Nottingham laughed. "Don't worry old friend. I won't be in here forever. I'm happy to continue this at another time."

"If you come near her I will—" David's phone started ringing interrupting Robin.

"Hello? We'll be right there," he hung up. "Come on." He grabbed Robin's arm. "That was Emma. She and Regina need our help at the well. We're picking up Hook on the way."

* * *

Mary Margaret was bouncing Neal on her hip while trying to get Henry to talk to her. "Henry, I know you're upset, but I'm sure Regina is fine."

Henry frowned. "I know that. Emma already texted and said mom was home and they were going to the well to try to get their magic back."

Mary Margaret frowned. "Then what's the matter?"

Henry shrugged.

"Henry."

"Why didn't my mom want me to stay with her last night? She said it was my house and I could stay whenever I wanted."

Mary Margaret sighed. She knew that someone had assaulted Regina, but she didn't know the details.

"I think she had a bad day and didn't want you to see her upset. You know how she is."

"She let Robin stay."

"That's different. You're her child. She wants to protect you."

Henry seemed to think it over. "I guess that makes sense. But I'm not a kid. I could have helped her."

"I know that. I think it's just going to take some time. It's hard for mom's to acknowledge their baby's are all grown up."

"But-" Henry started, but the doorbell rang.

"Hold that thought." Mary Margaret said moving to the door. She opened it and was surprised to see Regina.

"Regina, I thought you were with Emma."

"Well, I was, but she had some things to take care of, so I told her I'd come talk to you."

Mary Margaret frowned in confusion. "Talk to me about what?"

"The chalice. It looks like we're going to need it to get our magic back."

"Really? I thought you said it was dangerous and we should keep it protected since we didn't understand how it worked," Henry said.

"Yes, well-"

The ringing phone cut Regina off.

Mary Margaret picked up the phone. "Hello?" Her frown deepened. "I… um, yes, I heard you. I…"

Regina was stepping closer to Mary Margaret narrowing her eyes. Mary Margaret instinctively took a step back. Regina grabbed the phone from Mary Margaret's hand. "She can't talk right now," she said hanging up the phone.

* * *

The color drained from Regina's face as the call disconnected.

"Regina?" Emma called. "Are you okay? David and Killian are on their way. Are Henry and Mary Margaret coming?"

Regina stared at Emma. It wasn't possible. It couldn't have been her voice. Was Zelena impersonating her?

Emma grabbed Regina's shoulder and shook her. "Regina."

Regina blinked. "Hmm?"

"What the hell, Regina? Are Henry and my mom coming? What is wrong with you?" Emma asked.

"I think they might be in trouble."

"What? Why?" Emma said worried.

"Someone is with them." Regina said.

"Who?" Emma asked.

Regina paused. It was impossible wasn't it? She'd watched Blue kill her. "I…I don't…me?" Regina answered.

"Okay. Now I know something's wrong. You are right here. Are you hallucinating or something? Did you take something?"

David's truck pulled up. He and Killian got out and then Robin climbed out from the back of the truck. "I thought the more the merrier, right?" David asked.

Emma looked from the men back to Regina. She turned back to her dad. "Yeah thanks, Dad."

Robin was watching Regina who was leaning heavily against the well and looked even paler than when he'd left her that morning.

"Regina, should we wait for Snow and Henry?" Emma asked.

"I think we should go check on them," Regina said.

"Regina, I don't know what you think you heard, but I'm sure they're fine. Let's just do this and then we can go check on them. If they are in trouble we're going to need our magic anyway." Emma turned to face the men. "Just make wishes and throw the coins the well. Believe in magic."

David and Hook stepped toward the well, and Robin started to walk to Regina.

Regina grabbed David's hand stopping him from tossing the first coin in.

"I don't think we should do this. If it works, it brings back everyone's magic not just ours," Regina said.

"So what? We outnumber Gold. And he doesn't have the Crystal," Emma argued.

"What if it's not just Gold we have to worry about?" Regina asked.


	21. Chapter 21

They all turned as they heard a car engine. Gold's black car was driving toward them. It pulled to a stop behind David's truck. The back passenger door opened and Henry stepped out.

"Henry!" Emma said moving toward him.

"I wouldn't do that, Savior," a voice sounding like Regina said as an arm holding a knife reached around Henry.

Emma turned to look at Regina, verifying she was still there. Regina had a look of horror on her face.

"No," Regina said softly in disbelief.

The Evil Queen stepped out of the car, standing directly behind Regina.

Robin met Regina's eyes. She'd said the Queen was dead. That Blue crushed her heart.

"What the hell?" Emma said. She turned to Regina. "You didn't think it was important to tell me Blue already used it?"

Regina swallowed. "I thought…" She shut her eyes trying to think of a plan. Henry was in danger. That was all that mattered right now. She opened her eyes and took a step toward herself.

"Stop." The Queen said. "Where's the crystal? Get the crystal and I'll give you back your precious little boy," she rolled her eyes. "You really are pathetic, you know?"

"I can't. I need magic," Regina said.

"Well, then I suppose it's a good thing we brought this," Gold said stepping in front of the car and holding the chalice.

"What are you going to do with that?" Emma asked.

"It's holding our magic, is it not?" Gold asked.

Emma nodded. "That's what Zelena seems to think."

"Well, then, this should fix things," he turned to Robin. "Pull some water up from the well."

"Why?" Robin asked.

"Do it thief," the Queen snapped as she tightened her grip on Henry and Regina let out a whimper of concern.

Robin looked between Gold and the Queen. What was their game plan? This wasn't going to end well. If only he had his bow.

David who was still standing next to Regina at the well, turned and began pulling up a bucket full of water.

Regina frowned. This was a bad idea. If Gold's plan worked, he and the Evil Queen would have magic back as well. And then Regina would have to retrieve the crystal and Regina had finally figured out his plan. Although he didn't need it to wake Belle anymore, Gold still planned to tether all of Storybrooke's magic to him. He wanted the power. She was sure of it.

Her cell phone was still in her hands. She blindly texted a message hoping it was clear enough to get her message across.

David had the bucket of water raised to the top.

"Anyone who wants to keep their magic should move away from the prince," Gold instructed. Regina let go of the well and tried to take a step. Pain shot through her ankle and she let out a cry.

"Mom!" Henry called.

Regina could feel her leg crumbling under the pain. She was going down. She felt strong arms grab her stopping her fall. Then arms were reaching under her legs and back and she was lifted up. She turned to face Robin.

"Thank you."

As she let her head fall back against Robin, she saw magenta and green smoke dissipating in the trees not too far from them. Zelena got the message. She sighed in relief.

Zelena carefully approached, staying well away from the chalice. She eyed it nervously as she waved her hand causing the Queen's knife to disappear. With no knife threatening Henry's life, Hook shoved the Queen knocking her to the ground and Henry out of her grasp. Henry ran to Emma, who held him tightly and Hook and the Queen struggled on the ground.

Zelena and Maleficent exchanged looks and then simultaneously waved their hands. Gold was thrown against a tree and the chalice disappeared from his hands.

Zelena turned to Regina. "One of you isn't enough?"

Regina smiled at her sister. "It is if you pick the right one."

David looked at Regina and then the Queen who was still struggling with Hook.

"Emma? You might want to cuff her before she does anymore damage."

Emma nodded. "Right."

After Gold and The Queen were both cuffed and locked in the backseat of Gold's car, David turned to Henry.

"Where's Mary Margaret and Neal?"

"After she gave them the chalice, they left. Mom…Regina…" Henry struggled to figure out what to call the woman who'd held him hostage.

"The Evil Queen," Regina supplied.

"The Evil Queen said she'd be back to deal with Mary Margaret after she got her magic back."

Regina wanted to pull her son into her arms, but she could see the hesitation in his eyes. He was afraid of her.

"David, you should take your family home and check on Mary Margaret. Robin can take me back before he goes back to camp. I don't think we should continue this right now."

Zelena looked at Regina. She looked awful. And clearly the Blue fairy had been successful in giving her the serum.

Maleficent followed Zelena's eyes to Regina. "You take care of the prisoners. I'll make sure your sister gets home and set some wards around the house."

Zelena nodded. "Thanks."

"Where are we putting all these prisoners? It's not like the jail has that many holding cells," Emma questioned.

"It is getting crowded. Maybe we should think about letting the other guy out. The wards on Regina's house should be enough. And we can't keep him there indefinitely," Hook suggested.

Robin set Regina back down and took a step toward Hook. "No one is letting that man out," he said menacingly.

Hook held up his arms in surrender.

"Just an idea, mate."

"Robin, it's fine," Regina said.

"I'll work it out," Zelena said waving her hand. The Queen and Gold disappeared. She took one last look at Regina and disappeared after them.

David turned to Henry. "Do you want to stay with your mom and Robin?"

Regina saw the hesitation on Henry's face. He didn't want to stay with her, but he felt like he should. She pushed down her emotions. "Henry, you should go with David. Mal and I need to discuss some things and I'm sure Mary Margaret could use your help with Neal."

Henry nodded. "Okay," he said, following David back to his truck. Hook followed them.

Regina watched the truck until it pulled away and then her mask crumbled. Her son was afraid of her. After all the progress they'd made, she was back to before the curse. She choked back a sob.

Robin put her arm on her back. "Hey, it's okay, love. He's had a scare. It will pass."

Maleficent frowned. "What happened to you, dear? You look a wreck."

"Thanks, Mal. That's helpful," Regina responded.

"Blue got the best of you again?"

"Well, I suppose it depends on how you look at it," Regina answered as she leaned into Robin to take the weight off her ankle.

Robin looked at Maleficent. "Can you fix that for her? I'm never going to get her to go to the doctor."

Maleficent glanced down at Regina's swollen ankle. "Well that looks hideous." She waved her hand.

Regina's grip on Robin tightened as the magic took effect and then she let out a breath of relief as she shifted her weight back to her ankle. "Thank you."

Maleficent nodded. "Now dear, why don't you fill me in on what's happened."

"Why don't we do that back at home?" Robin asked.

Regina smiled. He'd said home. He already thought of her place as home. Or maybe he just meant they should get her home. Maybe she was reading into things. Before she could dwell on it any longer, Maleficent transported them back to her living room.

* * *

Regina was resting against Robin on the couch. Despite Maleficent healing her ankle, she was still exhausted and emotionally drained. Maleficent was sprawled in an armchair near the couch.

"That evil bitch," Maleficent said.

"But, Regina, I don't understand. You said she crushed the Queen's heart," Robin said.

"She did! I watched her do it." Regina said.

Maleficent rolled her eyes. "Please, dear, whatever this silly serum is can't actually create a duplicate. She's some part of you. She can't be killed. You don't suddenly have two hearts. You have one. The only way to kill her is to kill you."

Regina sat up. That made sense. Why hadn't she thought of that? But that didn't seem like much of a solution.

"Then why would the Blue Fairy think it would work?" Robin asked. "She's supposed to be some authority on magic. Wouldn't she know this?"

Maleficent shrugs. "Blue has never been the smartest. For as old as she is, she doesn't have nearly as much wisdom as you'd expect. But then again what can you expect? She's not that powerful. She needs a wand to make her magic work. What kind of magic is that?"

Regina ignored Maleficent's attack on fairy magic. That wasn't the issue. The issue was how was she going to get rid of her evil counterpart without killing herself. And now that the Queen was out of her control, she couldn't very well continue trying to return her magic. That would put the whole town in danger.

Zelena suddenly appeared.

Regina's jaw set. She didn't like people appearing in her home.

Zelena immediately noticed the tension in Regina.

"Oh, right. Sorry. You don't like it when I do that. Everyone's locked up tight, but this is a big problem, Regina. How did you let this happen?"

Regina narrowed her eyes. She'd had enough. "Don't you have a child you should be looking after?"

Zelena turned to Robin and was surprised to see he didn't have their daughter.

"Where's Marilyn, Robbie?"

"I told you not to call him that," Regina could feel her patience was ready to snap.

Robin looked at Maleficent. "Maybe we should resume this later. After we've made sure the children and Snow are alright?"

Maleficent nodded. "We should gather everyone and discuss what we're going to do with Gold and the Queen. Neither of those two are going to stay in a jail cell long. They are both quite resourceful."

Robin kissed the top of Regina's head as he stood up. "Why don't you take a little nap? I'll go check on the kids and then come back and get you and we'll round everyone up."

Regina nodded in agreement.

Robin and Zelena left. Maleficent stood to leave as well.

Regina reached her hand out, grabbing Maleficent's arm. "Wait. Could you...would you mind putting up those protection spells before you leave?" Regina asked.

Maleficent met Regina's eyes. Regina hated asking for help. She must be really scared. "Of course, little one. Get some rest."

* * *

After the initial relief of finding Mary Margaret and Neal waiting safely in the loft, David's attention shifted to Henry who hadn't said a word since they'd left Regina.

Emma was sitting on the couch speaking softly to Hook. David frowned as he watched Henry glance at Emma and Hook and then head upstairs.

"Emma."

Emma turned to her father. "Yeah?"

"I think maybe you should talk to Henry."

"Really? But I was trying to figure out if we can do the magic restoration thing without Regina. We could try what Gold suggested, but I have to find out what Zelena did with the chalice."

"I think Henry needs you more right now, Emma," David said.

Emma shrugged and stood up. "He seemed okay to me." But she headed up the stairs after Henry.

David turned to Mary Margaret. "Are you okay?" She nodded slowly.

"I just feel like I failed Regina. I was supposed to keep the chalice safe, but she said she was going to take Neal," she said.

David put his arms around Mary Margaret. "It's not your fault. Regina won't blame you. She understands that you would do anything to protect your son."

"This is a bloody mess." Hook said and Mary Margaret and David agreed with their silence.

"Hey, kid." Emma said sitting down next to Henry on the bed.

Henry nodded at her.

"Everything okay?" Emma asked.

"Yeah."

"You sure there isn't anything you want to talk about? You're awfully quiet," Emma said.

"I'm fine."

"Okay. Well I might need to go by the jail and talk to Gold, but I'll let you know."

"Okay."

"Okay," Emma stood up and left. Talking was overrated. Henry was her kid. He probably hated talking as much as she did. He just needed a little space to work things out. He'd be fine.

* * *

Regina had said she'd sleep, but as much as her body wanted it, she just couldn't relax enough to fall asleep.

She looked at the clock. She needed to do something. She couldn't just lie around waiting for something to happen. What if her evil counterpart came after Henry again? There had to be a way to fix this. It was 2 p.m. She'd had Maleficent put the protection spells up, but she really couldn't just hide in her mansion. She'd spent enough of her life in hiding. In isolation. She got out of bed. Now that her ankle was healed she felt stronger. She'd have to remember to ask Emma for a gun next time she saw her, but for now she could take a knife if she went out.

She headed downstairs. She should eat something. She was actually hungry. She opened the refrigerator, but nothing appealed to her. She rummaged through the cabinets finally settling on a package of cookies she'd bought for Henry. Horrible empty calories, but she needed a little comfort food. As she pulled out the cookies she saw the oatmeal mix. She should probably have a bowl of that as well. And she did have some fresh berries she could put in it. She quickly set to work making the meal while she thought about her next steps.

She wanted to go see The Evil Queen. But the heroes would still be there guarding her and she was locked up with Gold and Nottingham. She had no desire to see either of them right now. Maybe she should try to talk to this Jekyll who made the serum. That wasn't a bad idea. Maybe he'd be able to explain more how it worked and how the Queen was still alive.

She put her empty bowl in the sink as she wondered if he was still locked up. Gold had been out. Had the Charmings let them both out? She'd text Emma on the way. She headed to the den to grab her purse and her eye caught side of Grace's doll sitting on top of the stack of boxes Robin had brought in from her vault.

She stopped. Maybe that should be her next step. Operation Chameleon was still important. Maybe even more important now that she was free of the Evil Queen.

Picking up the doll, she grabbed her purse and keys and left.

Regina knocked on Jefferson's door and braced herself for an attack. She knew he wouldn't be happy to see her. Maybe she'd be lucky and Grace would answer the door.

The door was flung open and anger filled Jefferson's face the second he saw who it was.

"Leave." He said. "I'm not working with you anymore. You said if I got you that item we'd be done. We're done," he started to close the door, but she grabbed it with her hand preventing him from closing it.

"Please. I just want to return something," Regina said holding the doll out as a peace offering. "I believe this was Grace's. I shouldn't have taken it in the first place and I definitely shouldn't have kept it so long. I'm sorry."

Jefferson grabbed the doll from her. "What is this? Did you take items from your victims to serve as trophies? To remind you of all your conquests?"

Regina swallowed. This was so hard. He wasn't wrong. She had kept items from a good number of her victims. To hurt them. To remind herself that she'd won. Snow White may have hurt her, but she wasn't the victim. She was the predator.

"I…I can't really explain it. It was horrible. Everything I did to you was horrible. It doesn't matter that I felt justified in doing it because you took my hope away. That's not an excuse. There is no excuse for what I did to Grace. She was an innocent child and I hurt her as much as I hurt you. And she never did anything to me. I'd really like to apologize to her if you'll allow me."

"Your apology means nothing. I don't believe a word you say and I won't have you spewing your lies to my daughter," Jefferson said.

Regina nodded. "I'd still like to return the doll."

"Daddy? Who's there?" a young voice called.

"Stay upstairs, Grace," Jefferson instructed.

"Is it Mom and Dad? I thought I was staying with you until next week," the voice said getting closer.

Regina felt a pang. She'd hurt the couple she'd given Grace to as well. What a ripple effect her decisions had had on so many people's lives.

"I said stay upstairs!" Jefferson said more forcefully and turned back to Regina.

"Leave. Now. And keep the doll. Grace doesn't need it anymore." He pushed Regina's hand from the door and shut it in her face.

Regina swallowed back the tears. She made it back to her car before she acknowledged the overwhelming feeling of guilt. She looked at the doll and tears began trickling down her face. She wiped them away and turned in the opposite direction of her mansion. Maybe she couldn't apologize to Grace today, but she could apologize to the parents who had taken care of her for 28 years and now were forced to share her. Regina knew how that felt and felt horrible for inflicting it on someone else.

She stopped in front of the couple's home. It wasn't far from Jefferson's. She was well aware that he used to spy on Grace from his home. She put the car in park and stepped out. She walked up the stairs and knocked on the door. She needed to do this before she lost her nerve.

The door opened and Regina's was staring at the woman who'd taken such good care of Grace in Storybrooke. Regina hadn't lied. Grace hadn't wanted for anything. She'd given her good parents and a good life. Everything but her father. Ironic that Jefferson had helped her get her father back so she could take away Grace's.

"Mayor Mills?" the woman said in surprise.

"I'm sorry to just drop by, but I was wondering if you had a few minutes," Regina asked.

The woman looked a little nervous, but nodded.

"Thank you," Regina said as she stepped inside.

"Can I get you something to drink?" the woman asked.

"No, that's alright. I promise I won't be long. Is your husband home?"

The woman nodded. "I can get him if you'd like." Regina nodded and the woman turned and started to walk down the hall. "Tom! The mayor's here to speak with us."

Tom. Regina hadn't been able to remember their names. So many faces and names she'd forgotten. She swallowed and nervously clenched and unclenched her hand.

The man came around the corner. "Madam Mayor," he acknowledged her. "Is there a problem?"

Regina paused trying to calm her nerves. She'd already done this so many times with the hearts, but her failed attempt at Jefferson's had knocked her off her game.

"No problem," Regina said more confidently. "Why don't we sit down for a moment?" She gestured to the couch and the couple followed her even though it was their home.

She sat and crossed her legs. She folded her hands on her lap. "I realized I never really spoke to you about what happened with Grace. Or apologized," Regina began.

The woman looked shocked. Regina plowed on. "I am truly sorry for the pain I have caused you by giving you a child you couldn't keep. I know that must have been heartbreaking and it was cruel of me to inflict such pain on you. I don't expect your forgiveness, but I did want you to know that I am truly sorry and I appreciate what a wonderful home you provided for Grace for the duration of the curse."

The couple just stared at Regina.

"You're sorry?" the man asked.

Regina nodded. "I know. It doesn't fix anything, but-"

"You don't need to be sorry. You gave us the greatest gift we could ask for. We've always wanted children and Grace was like a gift from God. She is the sweetest most loving child anyone could ask for. We had 28 years with her which is much longer than most parents get. Granted, it didn't feel like 28 years, but regardless. I'm not going to lie to you, it's been very hard sharing her with her father, but Grace has enough love to go around and she's even happier now that he's in her life again," the woman said.

"So of course we forgive you. I know you didn't give any thought to us at all, but it was a blessing, not a curse and we can't be angry with you about that," the man said.

Regina could feel tears in her eyes, but she blinked them back. She could not believe these people. She would never have accepted an apology this gracefully.

The woman leaned over and pulled Regina into a hug. "We've heard plenty around town about the troubles you've had with you own son. You know that nothing you can say will make it easier for us to be separated from Grace, but it's worth it for her happiness."

Regina patted the woman on the back and then pulled away from the hug. This woman was going to make her cry with all her kindness.

"Thank you," Regina said. "I should be going now," she said as she stood up.

The woman nodded. "Thank you, Madam Mayor."


	22. Chapter 22

_**A/N: Thank you to the guest that pointed out my glaring error. The Queen doesn't have magic at the sheriff's office. I literally wrote let's get our magic back and then had her use magic. Ugh. Sorry! That's what I get for not using a beta. :(** _

After checking on Marilyn and leaving her with Robin at the camp, Zelena headed straight back to the convent. That stupid fairy was going to pay for what she did. She flung the doors open with magic and stormed inside. The nuns all scattered at the sight of her. Except for Tinkerbell. But before Tink could intercept Zelena, Blue entered the room.

"Zelena." Blue said levelly.

"Do you have any idea what you've done? What you unleashed on this town?" Zelena asked as she stalked toward Blue.

"I haven't unleashed anything. I've saved the town. Now that Regina is free of her evil side, she'll be firmly on the side of good and we can win this battle," Blue said.

"Battle? I don't know what you're talking about, but Regina isn't free of her evil side. She's just no longer in control of it."

"What do you mean?" Tink asked. "What's she talking about?" she continued turning to Blue.

"Your leader, in all her _goodness,_ decided to separate Regina and the Evil Queen."

Tink frowned. "What do you mean? The Evil Queen is her own person? Is that even possible? Where is she?"

Blue rolled her eyes. "I disposed of her. That was the point. Get rid of the evil so good can win."

"Except she's not gone. She's running around with Gold wrecking havoc on the town.

Blue looked surprised. "That's impossible."

"Apparently it isn't. The only thing working in our favor right now is that she, like Regina, has no magic."

Blue looked concerned. "The Evil Queen isn't dead? I crushed her heart."

"You what?" Tink asked incredulously.

Blue rolled her eyes. "I told you she couldn't be saved. But you wouldn't listen to me."

Tink turned to Zelena. "Is Regina alright? Where is the Evil Queen?"

"Regina would be better if the Evil Queen wasn't using her son against her. The Queen's locked up for now, but I'm sure that won't last long," Zelena said.

"We need to come up with a plan. A way to fix this," Tink said.

Blue frowned. "It's too late. The battle has begun and if I haven't eliminated The Evil Queen, we're in trouble."

"What is this battle you keep talking about?" Zelena asked.

"A show-down between good and evil. The balance is very tenuous and it's shifted. Gold is gaining power and if he gets his hands on that Olympian crystal it's over," Blue said. "The world as we know it will be gone. He'll leave a path of death and destruction in his wake."

Zelena rolled her eyes. "Why must fairies be so bloody dramatic?"

"Says the Wicked Witch," Tink shot back.

"I don't have time to stand here arguing with you. Can you help me fix what you've done or not?" Zelena asked.

"I'm afraid not," Blue said and with that she turned away from Zelena. "Green, go gather the others. We need to meet immediately."

* * *

Emma was determined to fix what she'd inadvertently done to Regina. Just as soon as she got their magic back, she'd meet with Jekyll and they'd figure out a way to reverse the serum. There had to be an antidote.

But first she needed to get that chalice so she could try Gold's plan. Of course, once she got the chalice she'd have to convince someone in her family to help her by getting the well water into the chalice, but she'd deal with that later. First she needed to find out what Zelena had done with it.

She started toward the witch's house, but then decided it would be faster to just call her.

"Zelena? Where are you? I need to know what you did with the chalice." Emma listened. "Whoah, slow down, greenie. I'm not the one who fell in love with a power-hungry under lord and started this battle. It is not my fault! I didn't make Gold the Dark One. Bitch," she muttered as she hung up the phone. She couldn't believe Zelena had hung up on her. Emma supposed it was partially her fault Gold had his power as the Dark One back, but this mess was as much Zelena's fault as it was hers. She sighed. Maybe Maleficent knew where the chalice was. Emma doubted she'd be any more helpful, but she headed to Maleficent's anyway.

* * *

Regina had just left Grace's adoptive parents house when her phone started buzzing. She picked it up. "I'm fine, Mal. Really, I didn't expect you to be the one panicking over my disappearance. She did what? No, I haven't. Oh, I need to go. I'm getting another call." She hung up and pulled her car to the side of the road. "Zelena?" Regina just listed to her sister fill her in on what she'd learned from the fairies. "I'll be home in five minutes. Can you let Snow know to assemble the group at my place?"

She hung up and put the car back in gear.

Maleficent was waiting for Regina when she arrived home.

"Zelena said we're gathering. Something about a battle between good and evil. She seemed to think I was on your side. Which side are you on, darling?"

Regina rolled her eyes. "Henry's side."

"Well, I suppose if my options are you or the Dark One, I'll have to go with you," Maleficent said. She frowned as she noticed Regina's puffy eyes. She narrowed her eyes. "Where were you anyway? I thought you were staying here and sleeping."

"How are we going to stop Gold if he gets his magic back? Where did Emma go after she asked you for the chalice?" Regina asked ignoring Maleficent's question as she walked up the path to her house.

"I'm not her keeper. She's your problem, not mine."

"Really? Is that how Lily feels as well?"

Maleficent tensed. "Leave Lily out of this. She's in New York looking for her father."

Regina unlocked her front door and they walked inside. "Well, hopefully Mary Margaret was able to locate Emma." She headed toward the living room. "Before everyone else arrives, there was something I wanted to speak with you about."

Maleficent sat down and faced Regina. "Yes?"

"I," Regina paused. She was nervous. She sat down. "I wanted," she began again. She stood up again, unable to hold still.

"Spit it out, child."

"I'm sorry. For everything. For the way I treated you. For not being there when Charming came after you. For not being there with Lily. For stealing the curse and trapping you for so long. I can't ever make it up to you, but I am truly sorry. I meant it when I said you were my only friend. But I was a horrible friend in return," Regina spoke quickly the words tumbling out.

"Shh." Maleficent said. "Hush, little one. I've already forgiven you. I understand you. I know why you did it. Don't forget who you're talking to."

Regina heard a key turn in the door followed by a yelp.

"I think you're going to need to take that protection spell down," Regina said.

"Must you take away all my fun?" Maleficent griped as she waved her hand. Regina went to open the door.

Robin was brushing himself off. "Did I do something to offend you, m'lady?" Robin asked.

"Not this time, thief," Regina shot back. She could barely keep herself from running into his arms. She just wanted him to hold her and make her feel safe and loved. Instead she turned to go back into the living room leaving the door open for him to follow.

Robin quickly caught up with her and grabbed her from behind. Regina tensed immediately and Robin loosened his grip. "Sorry, love. I didn't mean to startle you."

She shook her head and let her body relax back into his. "It's fine."

Mal grinned as Regina and Robin entered. "Should I go?" she asked raising her eyebrow.

Before Regina or Robin could respond the doorbell rang. "And it begins." Regina said.

* * *

Tinkerbell frowned as she left the fairy meeting. This was not a good plan. She had to warn Regina. She opened the door to exit the convent, but was stopped by an invisible force. She turned slowly though she already knew who was using magic on her.

"You weren't thinking of running off to tell your dear friend Regina what the plan is were you?" Blue asked slowly.

"Let me go. You've hurt Regina enough. This is your fault. We are going to come up with another way to fix it," Tink argued. "But Regina needs to have all the information about her situation."

"I know you have a soft spot for the Queen, Tinkerbell. But I can't let you warn her. We have to do what needs to be done. You don't want to know what happens if evil wins." Blue said.

Tink turned to the door again, trying to leave, but Blue was faster. Before Tink knew it her wand was gone and she was locked in her room.

* * *

Emma frowned as she searched Zelena's old farmhouse. It was really unlikely that the chalice would be there since Zelena didn't seem to want it anywhere near her, but Emma was running out of options. Where else could it be? What if Gold was wrong? Maybe she didn't need the chalice at all. Maybe if she drank some water from the well it would restore her magic. She'd try that.

"You're telling me the Dark One and The Evil Queen are helpless?" Nottingham asked.

"We're not helpless," the Queen responded. "And you had better watch yourself. I don't like you any better than my counterpart does."

Gold reached his hand toward the Evil Queen. She jerked away. "What are you doing, imp?"

"Trying to get us out of here, your majesty. But if you'd rather spend your time away from your good half in an actual cell, feel free."

The Queen glared at him. "What do you want, Rumple?"

"Just a hairpin. I'm sure you have plenty to spare in that insane hairstyle of yours."

She rolled her eyes, but removed a hairpin and handed it to him.

Gold quickly jimmied the lock. "See, was that really so hard? After you, your majesty." He waved his arm gesturing her forward. She stepped out of the cell and he followed. "Now if I know those do-gooders, they'll be meeting to figure out a plan of attack. So let's rally our forces and try to return our magic. I believe my car should still be at the shop. Shall we stop wasting time?"

The Queen rolled her eyes and followed him out of the sheriff's station.

Nottingham took advantage of the open cell door they'd left and walked out of the jail grinning.

* * *

Mary Margaret was bouncing Neal on her knee and David sat next to her with his arm around her. Henry sat with them as far away from Regina as possible. He'd given her a tense hug when he walked in and then stuck to his grandma's side. Regina pretended not to notice her son's obvious discomfort with her. Robin was rocking Marilyn in his arms and Zelena was pacing behind him. Regina sat between Maleficent and Hook on her sofa.

"I don't know how this is a battle between good and evil when the sides are all mixed up," Hook said.

Regina turned and glared at him. "Can we focus on the issue please? We need to find a way to destroy The Evil Queen and we likely need to do it without magic." She turned to the man who was standing in the doorway removed from the group and seemingly uncomfortable. "Dr. Jekyll? Is there anything you can do? Some way to reverse the serum?"

"I didn't develop that. I'd only just managed to make the split permanent," Jekyll said.

"Regina, you were always quite gifted with potions. This shouldn't be that different. Why don't you and I take a look at the potion with Jekyll and see what we can come up with?" Mal suggested.

Regina nodded. "Alright. Dr. Jekyll where's the serum?" she asked.

"Oh, that was the last of it. I might be able to recreate it if I had my lab, but unfortunately I don't," he said.

Regina and Charming looked at each other. Someone had a lab. Regina closed her eyes and gave Charming a slight nod.

"If we were to get you a lab, would you be able to recreate it?" David asked.

Jekyll nodded slowly and pushed his glasses up. "I believe so, as long as you have all the same ingredients accessible here."

"I'll call Whale," David said standing up and walking out of the room to make the call.

"I think we're forgetting the bigger threat here," Zelena said.

"The crocodile?" Hook asked.

"And those damn fairies. I don't trust them." Zelena said. "Their leader did this."

"And Hades brought the Olympian crystal. There's plenty of blame to share, Zelena," Regina said.

The sisters stared at each other and tension filled the room.

"I'm sure the fairies will help. Blue made a mistake, but I'm sure she thought she was helping you, Regina." Mary Margaret said.

Regina's jaw tightened and she forced herself to stay silent. That fairy never had Regina's best interests at heart, but it didn't matter now. What was done was done. "I don't think we should count on their support, Mary Margaret," she said tightly.

Mary Margaret, for once, had the sense to let it drop.

"What about the Olympian crystal? If you retrieve it, couldn't you use it against Gold?" Robin asked.

Regina whipped around to look at him. Was he serious right now? "I wasn't lying when I told Gold I need my magic to get it."

"No, I didn't mean to imply…" Robin started.

"Forget it." Regina snapped. She was tapping her foot nervously. "Mary Margaret have you heard from Emma yet?"

Mary Margaret shook her head. "I'm sorry, Regina."

* * *

Tink paced around her room. She was worried about Regina. She needed to warn her. But she couldn't get out. How was she going to help Regina?

Tink looked out the window. She was sure Blue would have placed a spell on the room to prevent her from leaving, but maybe she could at least open the window. She saw several of her sisters outside. If she could just get their attention before Blue came out. She struggled, but managed to get the window open.

"Nova!" she shouted.

The nervous fairy looked up at her. Tink waved at her, motioning her to come to the window. Nova quickly took on her fairy form and flitted up to Tink's room.

Tink quickly asked her friend to deliver her message and Nova took off.

* * *

Emma arrived at the well. She looked at the water. It looked disgusting. But she was the savior. She pulled the bucket up.

In bushes, The Evil Queen and Gold watched the savior.

"What does she think she's going to do without the chalice?" the Evil Queen asked.

"Silence, dearie."

Emma dipped her cupped hands in the bucket scooping up the water and lifted it to her mouth drinking it. She waited. She didn't feel anything right away. And then there it was. The familiar tingle. Her plan had worked! She'd been right about the water. And Regina thought she didn't know anything about magic. Now she could fix things. Now she had her magic back. And she'd get Regina's back too. She waved her arm and a small bottle appeared in her hand. She dipped it into the water and filled it before sticking it in her pocket and taking off.

As soon as they were sure she was gone, the Queen and Gold moved toward the well. Standing over the well, Gold rubbed his hands together in glee before pulling the bucket up.

"Ladies first, your majesty." He motioned to the Queen who was frowning in obvious distain for the water.

"You really want me to drink that?" She asked.

"Only if you want your magic back."

The Queen huffed in protest but dipped her hands into the water and drank it as Emma had.

She flung out her hand and a fireball came to life hovering above her hand. She laughed, clearly pleased with herself.

Gold quickly followed the Queen's lead and giggled gleefully as he felt his power return.

"Now. I believe it's time to pay my grandson another visit. Your better half is going to need a little motivation to do our bidding," Gold said. He started to lift his hand to transport them when suddenly a thought struck him. He turned on the Queen. "You were part of her when she hid the crystal. Why don't you know where it is?"

The Queen frowned. "Oh, I do. I just can't get it."

"You have magic now. I'm not in the mood for games, dearie."

"She's gone and made it accessible only with light magic. Which I'm pretty sure neither of us possesses. Unless there's something you'd like to share with me?"

Gold glared at her and waved his hand taking them both to Henry.

* * *

There was a frantic tapping at the window. Robin frowned and turned to Zelena.

"Relax, it's just one of those annoying little gnats," Zelena said.

Mary Margaret hurried to the window and opened it. Nova flew in and quickly changed back to her normal size.

"Nova? Are you alright?" Mary Margaret asked.

"Where's Regina? I have a message from Tinkerbell," she asked ignoring Mary Margaret's question.

"She's not here. She went with the doctor and Maleficent to work on a reverse serum," Robin explained. "Is she in danger?"

Nova's eyes flitted around the room. Were all these people really on Regina's side? They were heroes. Well, except for her wicked sister and that pirate.

Mary Margaret took Nova's hand gently into hers.

"It's alright, Nova. You can trust us. We all care about Regina," she said.

"Well, some more than others," Hook noted which earned him a glare from David and Robin. Mary Margaret just ignored him.

Nova nodded slowly. "Blue locked Tinkerbell up because she wanted to warn Regina. After you left," she nodded toward Zelena, "Blue gathered all the fairies and told us her plan to get rid of the Evil Queen, but Tinkerbell didn't agree and thought we needed to keep looking for another solution. But Blue was positive this is the only thing that would work. I…I promised Tink, I'd warn Regina, but I'm not sure if I should. It's very important that darkness doesn't win this battle."

Robin stared at the conflicted fairy. Regina was in trouble. He needed to get to her. He turned and began picking up his bow and arrows.

"Robin, wait. Let's hear the rest," Mary Margaret suggested.

"Yes. Finish the story. What is that righteous witch planning to do to my sister?" Zelena asked.

Nova looked down and whispered, "Kill her."

"What?" Mary Margaret exclaimed. "Why would she do that?"

"She already crushed the Evil Queen's heart; she's made it quite clear she doesn't care about Regina," Robin said, "but that poor excuse for a fairy isn't getting anywhere near Regina." He started toward the door. But before he could leave, Gold and The Evil Queen appeared in the middle of the room.

"Henry, darling, come to mommy," The Queen said.

Robin tried to move toward Henry, but found he'd already been frozen to the spot. Zelena was raising her hand to attack the Queen, but Gold beat her hitting her with a sleeping spell. She crumpled to the ground.

"You're not my mom. Regina is my mom," Henry said.

The Queen laughed. "We're the same person, dear. She's just all the boring parts. Now, don't talk back. I know I raised you better than that."

Henry trembled. He remembered being held at knife-point by the woman he thought was his mother. This wasn't his mother. It couldn't be. She wouldn't really hurt him would she? His question was answered when he felt an invisible force lifting him off the floor.

"Are you going to be a good boy, now?" The Queen asked.

"We don't have all day, dearie," Gold waved flicked his wrist releasing Henry from the Queen's hold. He stepped forward and took Henry's hand. "Come on, my boy. Don't worry. You'll see Regina soon."

The remaining adults had expected to be freed when the trio disappeared, but found they were still unable to move. Or warn Regina.


	23. Chapter 23

**_A/N: This is it. Thanks for reading!_**

Regina watched frowning as Jekyll poured various ingredients into a test tube. Maleficent stood next to Regina watching as well, while Dr. Whale looked like he was barely managing to keep silent and not try to join in the experiment.

Regina sighed. "How are we even supposed to know if the serum works?"

"Well, I suppose the good doctor will just have to run some tests. Lucky for us, we have a candidate right here to test it on," Whale said smiling at Regina.

"We're not testing the serum on Regina unless we're sure it can't harm her," Maleficent said.

"And how to you propose we test to see if it's safe for her majesty?" Whale asked.

Regina glared at him. "How did you test it before, Dr. Jekyll?" she asked.

"Well, I knew it wasn't working because the ions wouldn't suspend. But then Rumplestiltskin worked his magic on it and told me it was ready so I just drank it."

Regina shut her eyes and tried to keep her temper in check. Of course Rumple had a hand in this.

"In any case, I should be able to determine if it's working well enough to determine its safety. But first I need several more ingredients." He turned to Whale and began inquiring about the items he needed.

* * *

Several fairies followed Blue as she walked behind the glowing glove of Regina's. Blue frowned as it stopped in front of Whale's house. What would Regina be doing here?

She motioned to the fairies to surround the house, and they hurried to follow her orders.

She knocked on the door. When there was no answer she moved to the garage and peered through the window. She saw Maleficent with Whale and the doctor. Regina was inspecting a vile that the doctor was holding up.

Blue knocked on the window. Regina wouldn't be expecting trouble, so hopefully she'd have time to put Maleficent out of commission before she realized Blue was a threat and then it should be easy enough to take down Regina when she had no magic.

The garage door opened slowly.

"I don't have anything else to say to you," Regina said preemptively. "You should just go. I don't want or require your assistance."

"I hadn't planned on offering it," Blue said as she tossed a mixture of squid ink and pixie dust at Maleficent who was hit completely by surprise and frozen on the spot.

"What are you doing?" Whale asked.

Blue stepped toward Regina and stretched her arm forward ready to grab Regina's heart, when Gold and the Queen appeared in the middle of the room with Henry who appeared quite upset.

Gold approached Blue. "What do you think you're doing? I'm not done with her yet."

Regina's eyes darted around the room. She needed to do something quickly while they were distracted with each other. She reached to the shovel leaning against the garage wall. It disappeared right before she made contact.

"I don't think so," the Queen said.

Gold and Blue were engaging in a staring contest. Henry was trembling in the Evil Queen's embrace. Regina was scared.

Henry whimpered as the Queen pulled him in tighter. Regina looked around desperately. Mal was frozen and she didn't think the two doctors would be much help. She turned to the Blue Fairy.

"What did you come here to do?" Regina asked.

* * *

Emma appeared in the middle of Regina's living room excited to show them she'd gotten her magic back. She looked around in shock at the people standing and sitting frozen.

She waved her hand freeing them. "What happened?"

Robin was already running toward the door.

"Emma, you have your magic," Mary Margaret said stunned.

Robin flung open the door. "Well, come on then, we're going to need it. Gold and the Evil Queen took Henry and the Blue Fairy is also after Regina."

Emma's eyes widen. "They have their magic back?"

"Don't act so surprised. You have yours back." Robin snapped.

"We'll explain on the way, love," Hook said.

Mary Margaret looked at the Neal and Marilyn sleeping in the playpen. "I'll stay with the children and Zelena," she nodded to Zelena's still unconscious form on the floor. "Go save your son!"

David grabbed Emma's arm and pulled her back out the door.

* * *

Robin heard Regina's voice as he lifted the garage door.

"What did you come here to do?" she asked.

He pushed the door open. "Kill you."

Regina turned to Robin in surprise.

Emma immediately moved toward the Evil Queen. "Let my son go."

Gold glared at Emma and magically flung her across the room.

"If you want your boy unharmed Regina, you'll retrieve the crystal."

She raised her hands in surrender. "No magic, remember?"

The Evil Queen was now fighting off David and Hook who were doing their best to engage her in combat, but she kept blocking their attacks with a simple flick of the wrist. Robin was setting himself up to take out Blue. And Emma was getting back to her feet.

"Your highness, I suggest you and the others leave now and let me finish what I need to do. Your actions are only helping Evil win," Blue said to Emma.

The Evil Queen laughed. Henry cringed in her grip. "Really, Blue? Because ripping a heart out and crushing it is so good."

"It has to be done. A necessary sacrifice to rid us of you. It's the only way." Hers eyes met Regina's as she said it.

Regina turned to the Evil Queen and Henry. She watched as the Evil Queen flicked her wrist trapping Robin against the wall in a sea of vines.

Gold waved his hand and Charming, Hook, Whale, and Jekyll disappeared, leaving only Emma, the fairies and the still frozen in place Maleficent.

"Ms. Swan, I believe you have something I need," Gold said.

Emma looked confused.

"The water?" The Evil Queen prompted.

Realization dawned on Emma. They had followed her. That's how they had gotten their magic back. This was her fault.

The Evil Queen smiled wickedly as a look of understanding came over Emma's face.

"No. I'm not helping you," Emma said.

Gold was still standing between Blue and Regina preventing the Fairy from taking Regina's heart and the Evil Queen had a strong grip on Henry.

"Really? I was under the impression a mother would do anything for her child." A knife appeared in the Queen's hands. "We still need him of course. To ensure my weaker side's cooperation, but that doesn't mean we can't rough him up a little." She pulled the knife against Henry until a drop of blood appeared.

Henry looked terrified. Regina couldn't take it. "Do it, Emma."

"Emma, you can't. It's not worth it. Henry will be alright. You can't let evil win," Blue said.

Emma reached for the vial. "I can't let my son get hurt."

Blue waved her wand and Emma fell unconscious on the ground. Blue reached for the vial, but Gold had already taken it.

"Too late," he giggled.

He handed Regina the vial. "Drink it."

Her hand shook as she drank the water. She felt a momentary sense of relief as she felt her magic return, but the moment didn't last long as she quickly remembered where she was and what she was going to have to do.

Robin was watching from his suspended position. He was trying to cut away the vines.

"I love you," Regina said looking up at Robin. She turned back to Henry and the situation at hand.

In that instant Robin knew exactly what she was going to do. Curse that Blue Fairy. There had to be another way. He looked at the vial on the workshop table.

"Get the crystal now, Regina. I'm done playing games." Gold said.

Regina met her son's scared eyes. "Henry, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry you have to see this. See who I was…who I am…" her voice caught as she tried not to cry, "I love you so much. More than anything. Now shut your eyes."

She plunged her hand into her chest and pulled out her heart.

"Mom! No!" Henry screamed.

She tightened her grip and began squeezing. She sucked in a large breath of air at the initial pain. She squeezed tighter. The Evil Queen let go of Henry as she doubled over in pain. The pain also caused her to release her spell on Robin, dropping him to the ground.

Blue was smiling as the others looked on in shock and horror.

Henry wiggled away from the Queen and started to run to Regina, but Gold caught him.

"Grandpa, let me go!"

"Regina, stop this nonsense and retrieve the crystal." Gold ordered as he reached for the heart in her hand. Blue stuck her foot out causing him to trip and miss grabbing Regina's heart.

Regina bit her lip and squeezed harder. Her hand was shaking. The pain was unbearable. The Queen cried out. Regina fell to her knees, but tried to squeeze harder. She was seeing black around the edges of her sight line. Just a little more.

Robin dove into Regina trying to grab her heart from her hands, but instead he knocked it to the ground. Regina gasped and collapsed on the floor as her heart bounced on the ground. Robin and Gold both moved toward the heart. Blue frowned. She couldn't let them get it. She moved toward the heart as well. The job wasn't finished.

Gold managed to get the heart first, grabbing it roughly causing another wave of pain to rush through Regina and The Evil Queen.

Regina managed to look up at Gold.

"Now, dearie, you remember the best part of holding someone's heart, don't you? It was one of the few skills you really seemed to master," he said taunting her.

Regina was breathing heavily. She reached her hand up and grabbed the table to try to stand up. As she did, her fingers hit the vial of serum Jekyll had been working on.

Would it work? Mal had said she just needed to use magic to activate it and it should be ready to try. She looked at Mal.

"Do it," Mal said her lips barely moving.

Regina pulled her other hand up and subtly waved it over the vial.

"Regina, retrieve the," Gold began speaking to her heart. She grabbed the vial. She was pretty sure she was supposed to take it as a shot, but she didn't have time for that. She popped the lid off and drank it. Gold stopped, watching as Regina began convulsing as the Evil Queen rejoined her. Robin took advantage of Gold's surprise and snuck up on him. He was positioned to swipe Regina's heart from Gold's hands.

"Well, that was pointless, dearie. You still have magic and you'll still have to do as I say," he gloated and looked down to speak to Regina's heart again, only to find that Robin had swapped it with an organ from one of Whale's jars. Robin could only imagine what experiments Whale had been doing in here.

Gold furious turned to grab Henry. Regina flicked her wrist and Henry disappeared before Gold could grab him, he turned back to Regina his arm already raised to throw magic at her.

Regina flicked her wrist again and Emma woke up. Emma quickly surveyed the situation as Robin threw his weight into Gold knocking the man over and sending his spell into the air instead of at Regina.

Emma summoned the magic blocking bracelet and snapped it on Gold's arm before he realized she was awake.

Blue turned to the door trying to slip away. "I don't think so." Emma said. "Turn over your wand."

Blue looked at Emma like she'd grown two heads. "Pardon me?"

The fairies slowly gathered. "She's right, this was not the right thing to do. You have led us astray," one fairy spoke up.

Blue looked around to see all the fairies present nodding. She handed her wand to Nova and turned and left and the fairies followed.

Robin had moved to sit next to Regina on the ground. She had immediately leaned into him.

"Can we do something to release her?" Emma asked nodding at Maleficent.

Regina shook her head. "No, but it should be wearing off soon."

Robin was staring at Regina's heart in his hands. "Love, I think it's healing." He held it out for her. Tears pooled in Regina's eyes as looked at the small black lines running through her heart. It was still black, but not as black. Maybe Operation Chameleon was working.

* * *

After much discussion, the group had decided to leave Gold in Zelena's old room in the hospital basement. Regina wasn't even convinced that would hold him, but combined with the bracelet it would at least give them some time to figure out what to do.

Regina was resting on the couch. Even with her magic returned she was going to need a few days to recover from everything. There was a loud crash in the kitchen and Regina jumped up.

"It's fine!" Emma yelled from the kitchen where she and Mary Margaret were making dinner. Regina visibly cringed stopped her trek toward the kitchen.

Marilyn started crying. Robin moved to get up, but Regina looked at him. "May I?"

"Of course," he answered. Regina walked to the crib and lifted Marilyn out. She cradled the baby close to her and gently rubbed her back. The cries stopped and Marilyn cooed at her aunt.

Robin stared in admiration. Regina was a natural with children. It was hard to believe someone so loving could have ever been the woman he'd seen today. The Evil Queen was terrifying. Holding a knife to her own child. He shook his head. And then turned to look for Henry. Henry was sitting in the far corner of the room with Roland. He'd been steadfastly avoiding Regina and Robin could see how much it was hurting her. But she was careful to hide her pain when Henry was near.

He walked over to Regina, stood behind her and rubbed her back. "You're so good with her." He whispered.

"She's just perfect, Robin." Regina said. For the first time she didn't feel that stab of jealously that her sister had created a life with Robin. That they shared a child and not her. She was taken by the innocence and beauty of the little girl. She could see Robin in her. And she was already falling in love with the tiny little girl.

Zelena also noted her sister's innate maternal instincts. Zelena didn't feel like she had that. She loved her daughter, but she wasn't yet comfortable with her. Didn't know what to do or how to make her happy. But Regina had raised Henry. Maybe she had struggled with him. Maybe Zelena would ask her about it.

"Come on, Henry!" Roland was pleading.

"Not right now, Roland." Henry answered.

"But you have to help. You're a knight too. We need to save her majesty from the dragon!" Roland pleaded.

Maleficent turned sharply to face Robin from where she was sitting sipping her tea. "What have you been teaching that boy?"

"Roland, not all dragons are bad," Robin said.

"But papa, they blow fire!"

"And Regina can make fireballs," Robin reminded.

Regina saw her son's reaction to that statement and turned away. Robin immediately regretted his words. Henry was already afraid of Regina, reminding him of her magic wasn't going to help.

Regina moved to the couch and sat down. Roland came running over to sit next to her.

"Henry! We have to protect my sister too!"

"I think you can handle it, Roland. You're an awesome knight." Henry said. "I'm going to go wash up for dinner." He turned and left the room.

Regina held Marilyn closer to her and tried not to focus on Henry practically running away from her.

"Papa, if I can't save her majesty from the dragons, what can I save her from?"

"How about an ogre?" Hook suggested. "They are quite scary. You have to be very brave to fight off an ogre."

Regina smiled. "I think that's a great idea. I've very frightened of ogres. Will you protect me, Sir Roland?"

Roland nodded. "I have to get my sword," and with that he jumped off the couch and hurried away.

Robin kissed Regina's head. "Are you alright, love?" She nodded. "I'll be right back then."

* * *

Robin knocked lightly on Henry's cracked bedroom door.

"Who is it?" Henry asked.

"It's Robin. I was wondering if I could talk to you for a minute?"

Henry opened the door, but stood in the doorway blocking Robin's entry.

"Look, I just don't really feel like talking, okay? I'm just kind of tired."

Robin nodded. "No one is going to judge you for how you're feeling, Henry."

Henry sat down on his bed and Robin moved to sit next to him.

"She's my mom, Robin. But every time I look at her I see the Evil Queen. She was going to kill me. She didn't care about me at all."

"You know that Regina loves you very much, Henry. She would do anything for you."

"But the Evil Queen is part of her too. And the Evil Queen doesn't care if I die."

"I know. It's hard to reconcile the two. It's hard for your mother as well. She understands, Henry. Give it time."

"How do you love her knowing that she killed your wife?" Henry asked.

"Well, technically Zelena ended up killing my wife. I suppose the Evil Queen would have, but thanks to Zelena's journey to the past I don't have to face that reality. But to answer your question, I love your mother. Choosing to love someone is loving everything about them. All of who they are. The good and the bad. We both know your mother isn't perfect. But she's strong, and resilient, and she loves you with everything she has. Despite what the world has thrown at her, Regina didn't lose her ability to love. Don't miss out on that love because she's not perfect."

"Thanks, Robin. I'm glad you and mom found each other."

"Me too, my boy. Me too."

* * *

Marilyn had started fussing. Regina bounced her gently in her arms. She stood up and walked to Zelena.

"I think someone is ready for dinner. I'll heat her a bottle," she said putting Marilyn in Zelena's arms.

"Can I help?" Roland asked.

"Why don't you stay and help Aunt Zelena with your sister. See if you can find one of her toys," Regina suggested. Zelena's eyes watered at the word "aunt." She never thought she'd be grateful to be a part of her sister's family. The sister she'd wanted to destroy. They had a lot of issues to work through, but she was happy Regina was accepting her and giving her another chance.

Regina entered the kitchen. "Emma! Are you burning the sauce? Turn the heat down."

"You're supposed to be resting. We've got this under control," Mary Margaret said.

"Mary Margaret, you may have your part under control, but Emma is never in control in the kitchen. I know you and David still go over and fix her breakfast on Sundays."

"How did you know that? Are you spying on us?" Emma asked.

Regina ignored her and moved to the stove turning the heat down herself. "I told you to turn the heat down." She moved to the closet and found a bottle and the formula.

"Regina," Mary Margaret started in her soft, "I want to have a heart-to-heart" voice.

Regina ignored her. "Ms. Swan, I think we're even now."

"Even?"

"Well, I forced your parents to send you through a tree to escape me, tried to poison you with an apple tart, put a death curse on the well when you were returning and tried to destroy the town with you in it. But with your recent actions in bringing my sister back in as my boyfriend's dead wife and helping the Blue Fairy split me in two, I think we can call it even, don't you? Or would you like a couple more attacks?"

"Let's go with even." Emma said.

"Good. Now go entertain yourself with the other children. I'll take care of the cooking," Regina said, handing Emma the bottle to take to Zelena.

Emma nodded, relieved to be excused from cooking duty. She turned to go, but stopped and walked back to Regina. She pulled Regina into a hug. Regina stiffened, but didn't move away. "I'm sorry too," Emma said and turned and left the kitchen.

Regina kept her back to Mary Margaret, slowly stirring the sauce.

"The noodles are ready. Did you want me to put in the garlic bread?" Mary Margaret asked.

"Be my guest," Regina said.

Mary Margaret began placing the bread slices on the baking pan. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Do I look like I want to talk?" Regina asked.

"I think it might help. I know you're not okay, Regina."

Regina kept stirring, side stepping to move out of the way of the oven door as Mary Margaret opened it to put the bread in.

After closing the oven, Mary Margaret leaned back against a counter and watch Regina stir. Waiting. She was learning to navigate Regina's emotional boundaries. If she was patient Regina would talk.

Regina finally turned the heat to low and turned to face Mary Margaret. "The sauce is ready. I'll just let it simmer while we wait for the bread. Did Emma manage a salad?"

Mary Margaret just smiled at Regina. "Of course not. Heaven forbid she add something healthy to a meal." Regina continued as she opened the refrigerator and pulled out lettuce. She and Mary Margaret settled into a rhythm of washing and tearing the lettuce.

"I don't know how to fix things with Henry," Regina finally said.

"What do you mean?" Mary Margaret asked.

"After what she…what _I_ did…"

"That wasn't you, Regina. That was the Evil Queen."

"I wish everyone would stop saying that. As much as I want to separate the two parts of me, I can't. We're not different people. It's all me. It's the good and the bad in me. And the bad part of me held my son at knife-point. How is he supposed to get past that? He's terrified of me. And he should be."

Mary Margaret stopped tearing the lettuce and put her hand gently on Regina's. "Regina, Henry loves you. He's always seen the good in you. He's known you're the Evil Queen for a long time. He still found the good in you. He will again. He just got a much more up close and personal look at the Evil Queen and it's going to take a little time."

"I never wanted him to see me like that. I don't know how he'll ever be able to forgive me. I'm afraid I've lost my son," Regina said as she wiped a stray tear from her cheek.

Mary Margaret pulled her into a hug. "I think Henry is going to have a much easier time forgiving you than you'll have forgiving yourself."

After giving that a moment to sink in, Mary Margaret pulled back so she could look Regina in the eye.

"I lived with the Evil Queen at her worst for many years. I lived through her many attempts on my life and all her evil plots to torture me. And I still love you, Regina." Mary Margaret said solemnly.

"I'm so sorry, Snow." Regina said as she tried to wipe away the tears that were now flowing steadily.

"Shh. I forgave you a long time ago. Forgive yourself. Love yourself. You have to accept all of who you are, Regina. The Evil Queen has a lot of good qualities. She uses them all for the wrong things, but she's smart, she's resourceful, and she's strong. All of those things are your qualities too, Regina. They make you who you are. You are not going to lose Henry over this. He loves you just like I do."

The kitchen door flung open and Robin walked in as he said "I thought I told you to take it easy and let someone else handle the cooking?" He stopped abruptly when he saw Regina crying on Mary Margaret's shoulder.

"Did something happen? Are you okay?" Robin asked in concern.

Mary Margaret pulled away from Regina. "I'll set the table while you two finish the salad," and she slipped quietly out of the room.

Robin immediately moved to Regina and pulled her into his arms. "What's wrong, love?"

"I…Robin, how can you still want to be with me knowing who I am?"

"Number one, you forget that I knew the Evil Queen long before I knew you. She had her black knights after me for years," he smiled. "And number two, nothing could make me stop loving you. We all have darkness within us. Not all of us have the strength to fight it and to turn their lives around the way you have. You amaze me more every day I know you. I love all of you, Regina Mills."

He kissed her softly. Regina felt like she was melting into his arms. His words made her feel warm and his gentle kiss made her feel treasured and loved. She felt more at home in his arms than she had anywhere in her life.

"I love you too, Robin." She kissed him back and he pulled her tighter against him. She broke the kiss turning her head to rest against his chest listening to the steady beat of his heart.

"Robin, I wanted to talk to Henry first, but well I don't know if it even matters now since I'm sure he'll want to stay with Emma after today," Regina began.

"Regina, you don't-"

Regina put a finger on his lips shushing him. "Let me finish. If Henry's okay with it, I want you and Roland, and Marilyn to move in here with me. I mean, if you want to,"

Henry stepped into the kitchen. "I'd like that too."

Regina and Robin both turned to face Henry.

"Henry," Regina said surprised.

"I'd love that, but of course, I need to make sure Roland is comfortable with the idea. But seeing how he idolizes "his majesty" I don't think there will be any complaints," Robin said.

Regina smiled her first genuine smile all day.

"Cool. But Roland can't mess with my stuff or come in my room unless I invite him," Henry amended.

Regina laughed. "Of course."

Henry smiled. "Cool." He walked over to Regina and gave her a hug. "I'm really glad you're okay mom. I was really scared when you were trying to crush your heart."

Robin became serious. "Yes. Me too. I want you to promise you will never do anything that reckless and impulsive again. Your boys need you."

Regina smiled. "I'll do my best."

Robin gave her another quick kiss on the cheek and then picked up the salad bowl. "I'll let everyone know dinner's ready. Henry, will you help your mother with the rest of the food?"

Henry hesitated for a moment. He was still a little uneasy about being with Regina alone. Robin squeezed Henry's shoulder and Henry nodded. "Of course. Is the bread ready?"

Regina nodded and turned to pull it out of the oven as Robin left the kitchen. She set the bread on the stove and looked for her bread basket. Henry reached into the cabin over her head and pulled it down.

"Here you go," he handed it to her. She met his eyes briefly and then looked down again as she dumped the bread into the basket.

"Henry, if you want to stay with Emma and Hook for a while, I'll understand. I…I'm so sorry. I never wanted you to see me as the Evil Queen. I'm sorry I scared you," she paused and looked up at him. Seeing the scratch the knife had left on his neck, she gently reached toward it and touched it lightly. Henry flinched, but didn't pull away. She looked up and met his eyes. "May I heal it?"

Henry nodded. Regina held her hand over it and Henry felt the warm glow of her magic and the mark disappeared.

"Thanks, mom." Henry said. Regina smiled. "I…I know it wasn't you. I don't want to stay with Emma and Hook. I want to stay with you and Robin, but I am a little scared. I never really thought you could hurt me, but then you did. I mean…she did, but…"

Regina shook her head. "No. You're right. I did. She is me. She's the worst part of me. But she is part of me. But I would rather kill myself than hurt you again, Henry."

"Don't say that!" Henry said. "I'm not mad at you about the Evil Queen kidnapping me. But I am mad at your for trying to kill yourself."

"But Henry, you heard Blue. The only way to get rid of the Evil Queen was to kill me. And I had to get rid of her before she hurt you."

"It wasn't the only way. You found another way. Mom, you have to start believing in yourself. You're a hero now. And heroes always find another way," Henry said.

Regina blinked the tears from her eyes. "What would I do without you, Henry?"

"You'll never have to find out," he said hugging her tightly. He felt Regina's arms pull him into a tight hug. He could feel the love she had for him poured into that hug. He knew his mom's capacity for love would always beat her capacity for evil if she kept her heart open.

Regina wanted to hold her son in her arms forever. Now that he was a teenager he didn't want her hugging him in public and even in private they were quick hugs simply to humor her. She missed her little boy. But they couldn't stay here forever. Dinner was getting cold. She kissed him on the top of his and ended the hug. She handed him the bread and picked up the bowl of pasta in one hand and the sauce in the other.

"Let's get dinner out. I'm sure everyone is hungry."

* * *

Regina stood in the doorway holding the tray of brownies. She watched as her family, friends, and former enemies sat together at her dining room table eating and laughing. There were plenty of challenges ahead. Figuring out what to do about Gold and Nottingham for starters. Continuing Operation Cobra. Working things out with her sister. But for today, for this moment, she just wanted to enjoy her family. She smiled. Maybe villains did get happy endings. Or maybe she just wasn't a villain anymore.

The End


End file.
